Class 



COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT 



A FAMILY FLIGHT 



OVER 



EGYPT AND SYRIA 



BY 



Rev. E. E. HALE and Miss SUSAN HALE 



FULL Y ILL USTRA TED 



T 2 »882f 



D 



BOSTON 
LOTHROP AND COMPANY 

32 FRANKLIN STREET 



Copyright, 1882. 
D. Lothrop & Company. 



CONTENTS. 



Page. 

CHAPTER I. 

Rumors 13 

CHAPTER II. 

A Sober Start I 23 

CHAPTER III. 

From Marseilles 32 

CHAPTER IV. 

Malta and the Mediterranean 42 

CHAPTER V. 

Arrival c; 2 

CHAPTER VI. 

Alexandria 61 

CHAPTER VII. 

An old Acquaintance 72 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Grand Cairo 79 

CHAPTER IX. 

The Pyramid of Khufu .... 86 

CHAPTER X. 

Afloat 96 

CHAPTER XL 

More about Pyramids 1Q 2 



6 ' Co?itents. 



CHAPTER XII. 

Nile Life 109 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Beni-Hassan 118 

CHAPTER XIV. 

Denderah 126 

CHAPTER XV. 

Luxor 136 

CHAPTER XVI. 

Rameses the Second 144 

CHAPTER XVII. 

Tommy's Letter 153 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Karnak 163 

CHAPTER XIX. 

BlBAN-EL-MOLOOK 1 73 

CHAPTER XX. 

Phil/e } 184 

CHAPTER XXI. 

Edfoo 193 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Last Nile Days 202 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
A Surprise 210 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Cairo again 222 

CHAPTER XXV. 

The Canal 230 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Palestine 240 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



Contents. j 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 
Bethany 259 

CHAPTER XXIX. 
Tent Life 272 

CHAPTER XXX. 

Bethlehem 280 

CHAPTER XXXI. 
The Dead Sea 291 

CHAPTER XXXII. 
Historical 301 

CHAPTER XXXIII. 
Philip's Expedition 309 

CHAPTER XXXIV. 

Nablous 320 

CHAPTER XXXV. 
Poor Mary! 328 

CHAPTER XXXVI. 
Beyrout 335 

CHAPTER XXXVII. 

To Damascus 349 

CHAPTER XXXVIII. 
The Sea of Galilee 359 

CHAPTER XXXIX. 

Damascus 367 

CHAPTER XL. 

Together at Last .................. 379 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Egyptian Sketches . Frontispiece. 
A third-class Carriage on the 
Railway between Alexandria 
and Cairo . . . .12 

A Family Flight . . 13 
Cologne School 1 
Ten-button Gloves . . 17 
The Wonders of the big Barn . 19 
Eliza . . . . . .20 

Madison Square . . .21 
Miss Lejeune's Apartment . . 24 
Roman Circus, Bordeaux . . 26 
Boats in the Garonne 
Official 



Arriving at Bordeaux . 
Carcassonne 
Palace of Longchamp 
Notre Damede la Garde, Marseilles 
Port of Marseilles 
A Summer Sea . 
At Marseilles 
Mrs. Campbell's Children 
Bonaparte . 
St. Paul's Bay . 
Knight of St. John 
Priest of St. John 
The Pyramids of Gizeh, from the 

east Bank of the Nile 
Papyrus 
On the Nile 



27 
28 
29 
3i 
33 
35 
37 
40 

41 

42 

43 
45 
46 

47 

49 
5i 
53 



Alexandria 
Water Seller 
Egyptian Fellah Woman 
On the Balcony . 
Street Figures 
A fine Lady 

Pompey's Pillar . . . 
Unfinished Sketch by Mary 
Egyptian Palm-grove . 
Battle of the Pyramids 
Kle'ber 

A modern Bey . 
Bessie's Idea of a Bey 
Cotton Plant 
A different Type 
Distant View of Cairo 
Street in Cairo . 
A delightful Donkey . 
Mrs. Stuyvesant . 
In the Street 
Colossal Statue of Rameses 

Great 
Cartouche . 
Haggi 

On the Road 
To Boulak . 
Ascent of the Pyramids 
The Sphinx and Pyramids 
Below the Great Pyramid 
Portrait of Khufu 



the 



List of Illustrations. 



9 



In the Streets of Cairo 


95 


Ruins at Karnak 


l S° 


Mrs. Ford's Sister 


97 


Mr. Buffers . . . - . 


T 5 2 


Mr. Ford's Valet 


98 


Jane ...... 


*53 


Boats at Boulak 


100 


Jt might have been 


r SS 


A distant Camel 


IOI 


Guests arriving .... 


r S7 


Nile Scenery . 


102 


Mrs. Pope ..... 


J 59 


Near a Town .... 


103 


A deep Discussion 


160 


Hamper containing mummied Leg 




" Backsheesh " . 


161 


of Mutton .... 


106 


Foreign Captives 


161 


Ancient Ornaments 


107 


Lighting them to their Boats 


162 


One of the Sailors 


108 


Hatasoo's Obelisk 


164 


Towing the Dahabieh 


109 


Rameses slaying Captives . 


165 


Shadoof ..... 


1 10 


Queen Hatasoo .... 


167 


That Cat 


112 


Cartouche of Thothmes II. 


167 


The Dom Palm . 


lI 3 


Cartouche of Thothmes I. . 


167 


Ali 


116 


A King of the Eighteenth Dynasty 


169 


Mode of Travel .... 


117 


Great Hall at Karnak 


171 


Ornamental Letter 


it8 


Said Bessie to Philip . 


172 


An Eastern School 


119 


A Rag-Bag .... 


I 73 


Cartouche of Osirtasen I. . 


121 


Scene of the recent Discovery . 


I 7S 


Pictured Tomb at Beni-Hassan . 


121 


Palace of Rameses III., Medinet- 




From the Tomb of Beni-Hassan 


122 


Abou 


177 


Ernest's Effort .... 


I2 5 


The two Memnons 


179 


Fat little Birds .... 


126 


Ancient Splendor 


181 


Sacred Scarab .... 


127 


Island of Philae .... 


184 


Cartouche 


127 


Assouan ..... 


186 


Asyout 


128 


On the Bank at Assouan 


187 


Nero's Cartouche 


129 


Cataract 


188 


" Sign of Life " .... 


130 


Nubians in the Nile . 


189 


Boabdil 


I 3 I 


Portico at Philae 


190 


Athor . . 


T 34 


A Crouching Camel . 


191 


Hak 


J 34 


Wall-picture of Poulterer's Shop . 


192 


Forms of Athor .... 


J 35 


Egyptian Temples (plan of). 


194 


Nile Bank 


136 


Edfoo . ... 


197 


Through the Glass 


T 37 


Fellah Father .... 


199 


Ernest's Sphinx 


138 


Egyptian Girl .... 


200 


A Crowd of Masts 


T 39 


A Native 


201 


Columns of Temple at Luxor 


141 


Fanny 


202 


Watering Animals in the Nile 


J 43 


Mr. Horner's Preference 


204 


Cartouche of Rameses the Second 


144 


Nile Boat . . 


205 


Rameses slaying his Enemies. 


!45 


Forms of Set .... 


206 


Rameses between two Gods 


146 


Group of Fellahin 


207 


Propylon at Karnak . 


*47 


Cartouche of Khufu . 


208 



List of Illustrations. 



10 



Cartouche of Osirtasen I. . 


208 


" " Thothmes I. . 


208 


" " Thothmes II. . 


208 


" " Rameses II. . 


208 


" " Her-hor . 


208 


" " Cleopatra 


208 


One of Cleopatra's Needles 


209 


Arabs 


210 


Bedouin Girl .... 


211 


, Offering Water . . 


211 


Distant Mosques ... 


214 


From the Citadel 


2I 5 


A jolly Landlord 


217 


Gibraltar 


219 


Moorish Court .... 


220 


El Kait Bey ... 


223 


Mosque in the Citadel 


224 


Call to Prayer . ' . 


225 


Poor Relations .... 


226 


Mosque of Hassan 


228 


Station Master .... 


230 


Policeman ..... 


231 


The Ticket-taker 


231 


Red Sea . 


232 


View on the Suez Canal 


2 33 


At Zagazig ..... 


2 35 


Fellahin at work on the Canal . 


236 


Adrian ..... 


2 37 


Leaving Egypt .... 


2 39 


Northern End of the Canal 


241 


Jaffa from the Sea . . 


2 43 


Tower of Ramleh 


2 45 


Crescent and Cross . 


246 


Wall of Jerusalem 


250 


Via Dolorosa 


2 5 T 


Garden of Gethsemane 


2 53 


Summit, Mount of Olives . 


2 55 


Mosque of Omar 


256 


Upon the Wall .... 


2 57 


Moses viewing the promised Land 


2 58 


Church of the Holy Sepulchre 


260 


Bethany ..... 


261 


Golden Gate, Jerusalem 


263 



Procession with Palms 


265 


Jerusalem from the Mount of 




Olives .... 


269 


Approach to Bethlehem 


272 


A Group of Jews by the Roadside 


274 


Solomon's Pools 


2 75 


Rachel's Tomb . 


276 


Abraham's Oak .... 


278 


Vines of Eschol .... 


279 


Shepherds Watching . 


280 


The Babe in the Manger . 


281 


Church of the Nativity 


283 


Gleaners ..... 


284 


Bethlehem . 


286 


Interior of Khan 


2S7 


Convent of Marsaba . 


289 


Banks of the Jordan . 


292 


The Dead Sea .... 


2 93 


Plain near Jordan 


2 95 


Bearing the Ark over Jordan 


296 


Fords of the Jordan . 


297 


In front of the Church of the Holy 




Sepulchre .... 


300 


The Pool of Bethesda 


301 


Jews driven away Captive ; 


302 


Wailing Place for the Jews . 


303 


Women at the Fountain 


305 


Modern Jerusalem 


3°7 


By the Roadside 


308 


Sychar 


310 


In the Porch of the Temple 


3 11 


Gate at Nablous 


3*3 


Caravan passing through Samaria 


3i5 


Ruins of the City of Samaria 


3i7 


Philip's Guide .... 


3*9 


Ruins of Bethel .... 


321 


Cylinder containing the Pentateuch 


3 2 3 


Valley of Sychem 


3 2 5 


Ramah . . . 


326 


Garden outside of Jaffa 


3 2 9 


Leaving Jaffa .... 


33o 


Doctor Grant .... 


33 2 


Beyrout . . . . . 


335 





List 


of I [lustrations. 


1 1 


Lebanon from Bey rout 




337 


Sea of Galilee 


• 3°3 


In t Ik* ( i i rripn 




339 


On Camel 


• 3°5 


( i ru n< 1 m ;i SivirL' 




34° 


On a House-top, Damascus 


• 3^7 


Baalbec 




343 


Minaret — Damascus . 


1 0ta 


Cedars of Lebanon 




345 


Garden in Damascus . 


1 - 


Smyrna from the Sea 




346 


Water Wheel 


■2*77 

373 


Syrian Village 




347 


Eastern Music . 


373 


Range of Hermon near 


Banias, a 


t 


Kurds .... 


1 *7 A 

374 


the main Source of the Jordan 


35i 


Straight Street, Damascus . 


375 


Distant Hermon 




354 


Off Shore .... 


o/° 


Starting for Nablous . 




355 


Abana .... 


300 


By the Sea . 




359 


Palmyra : Grand Colonnade 


. ^81 


Nazareth 




360 


The north Shore . 


• 384 


Ruins of Capernaum . 




361 


The Sally Ann . 


. 386 



A THIRD-CLASS CARRIAGE ON THE RAILWAY BETWEEN ALEXANDRIA AND CAIRO. 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT 
AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER I. 



RUMORS 



H 



AVE you heard that the Horners are going up the 
Nile?" said Mrs. 




Jones. 

" What ! the Horners ? 
I thought they had but 
just got home!" cried 
Mrs. Smith. 

"Got home! Why, it 
seems as if they had only 
just gone. When did they 
get home?" said Mrs. 
Brown. 

This was at a small af- 
ternoon-tea in New York, 
early in the season, just 
as people were 
coming back 
to town and 
settling them- 
selves for the 
winter ; and 
these worthy 
ladies were sip- 
ping tea and discussing the affairs of their neighbors and friends. 

" You know," Mrs. Jones continued, though she evidently was 



A FAMILY FLIGHT. 



14 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

the only one who did know, "you know Mrs. Horner was so 
disappointed about living in her own house. It was let to the 
Dorners, and they like it so much they do not wish to give it 
up ; and poor Miss Dorner is such an invalid, the doctors say she 
must not be moved." 

"And they pay an enormous rent for it, I hear," put in Mrs. 
Smith. 

" But Mrs. Horner does so dislike living in a hotel," said Mrs. 
Brown. 

" That's why," promptly answered Mrs. Jones, " they are going 
away again." 

" I thought," said a meek Miss Robinson, " that in travelling 
you had to live in hotels all the time." 

/'That's very different, my dear," replied Mrs. Jones, who was 
the young lady's aunt; "when people travel they do not expect 
the comforts of home." 

"I suppose they find," murmured Mrs. Smith, "that they can live 
in splendor abroad upon the rent of the house at home." 

" Well, I should not call it splendor," replied Mrs. Jones, " but 
very comfortably ; and then, you know, they are all the time 
improving their minds." 

This was fully agreed to by all, and the conversation passed on 
to other matters of personal interest in their circle. But we are 
more interested in the Homers. It was true. They were going 
up the Nile. 

There was a sort of insipidity in the New York life after the 
novelty had worn off of their return. At first, it was delightful 
to the girls to meet their friends, to distribute their little travel 
presents among their cousins, to show off their foreign treasures, 
and to be admired in their fresh and pretty Paris toilets. But 
in all of it there was a shade of disappointment. People looked 
listlessly at photographs, if they had not seen the places they 
represented ; while the very ones they had expected to enjoy them most, 
those who had seen the originals, would generally be reminded by 
these pictures of some other place they themselves had seen, and would 



RUMORS. 13 

go on to talk about that, winding up with, " Such a pity you did 
not go there ! " Mary found little or no sympathy for her old 
masters, especially before they were mounted. The little roll 
snapped back from the listless hold of a friend while she was explain- 
ing that this was a masterpiece 
of the Cologne school, or a detail 
from one of Carpaccio's St. Ur- 
sula pictures ; she felt that the 
New York girls were more inter- 
ested in ten-button gloves than 
in the ten thousand Virgins. 

Nevertheless, Mrs. Horner would 
have been perfectly happy if she 
could have been in her own house, 
and diving again into her beloved 
closets. She was always haunted 
by a certain cashmere scarf which 
she used to have. She had put 
it away somewhere, before they 
started for Europe. She could 
not think where, but she was sure 
she could find it. Not that she 
wanted the scarf, but it weighed on her mimd. They were in pleasant 
apartments at an hotel on Madison Square, and, accustomed as 
they now were to hotel life, they ought to have enjoyed it. The 
bright square in front, the constant movement of life before their 
windows, was almost as gay as the gayest of foreign towns. Little 
coupes, with elegant hammer-cloths and liveries, dashed by during 
fashionable hours, in a constant stream. Children on roller-skates 
whirled over the asphalt of the square all day. The cars and coaches 
rattled up and down, crowded and busy, and by night the electric 
light filled the place with its wan, cutting glare, like an unsentimental 
moon. Compared to the New York of twenty years ago, the scene was 
as lively, startling, and amusing, as any foreign traveller could wish. 

"But there are no languages!" exclaimed Bessie impatiently, as 




16 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

she threw herself into a chair after a shopping trip down Broadway. 

A great many languages are spoken in New York, but there is 
not the same chance to exercise them, when one is settled down 
at home, as in the friction of travel. 

Miss Lejeune was not present, or she might have continued 
her censure upon the habit of finding fault with existing con- 
ditions. Miss Lejeune was making a long visit in Boston. To the 
young Horners, this visit seemed endless. Their mother thought 
it quite likely Augusta might stay all winter. She wrote v bright 
accounts of the gayety and hospitality of the place, occasionally 
mentioning Mr. Hervey, who was, it will be remembered, a 
Bostonian. 

Thus the Horners were endeavoring to " make their sphere fit 
into a cube," and to accustom themselves to a life which was 
dull in comparison to their year abroad. Mary began to make a 
serious business of mounting her photographs, and arranging them in 
order. She had the basis of a good collection of reproductions of the 
pictures of the old masters. Bessie petitioned for a little book-cabinet, 
and gathered together a set of books fitted for a solid course of 
historical reading connected with the places they had seen. Philip 
and Tommy went back to their schools, where they found, to their 
disgust, that their fluent German and French did not prevent them 
at first, from falling behind the boys who had been digging away 
during the year of their absence at the tasks prescribed by the 
regular course. Mr. Horner resumed his daily trips to the office 
down-town, and his wife soon began to complain that she saw 
nothing of him. In the evening he was tired, and, it must be 
confessed, often went to sleep on the sofa. 

But this state of things, not altogether satisfactory, was not 
destined to last. Old Mrs. Seaton, the mother of Mrs. Horner, 
was suddenly taken ill. This excellent old lady, the beloved grand- 
mother of the Horner children, had always lived at the dear home- 
stead, in the town of Keene, N. H., where it was their great 
pleasure to visit her occasionally. Her large family of children 




TEN-BUTTON GLOVES. 



RUMORS. 



19 



had been long scattered, either by death or marriage, but she clung 
to the old home where they had all grown up around her, and 
with good health and 
spirits, surrounded by 
fond and obligin 
neighbors, she requir- 
ed no other perma- 
nent companion than 
the worthy Eliza who 
had lived with her 
"forever," as the Hor- 
ners expressed it. 

This country home 
was the favorite hol- 




iday retreat of 
all the Homers, and 
had been so from their earliest 
youth. When they were little 
children, it had been their de- 
light, on their visits there, to 
investigate the wonders of the 
big barn ; the great cows with 
their wet noses and sweet 
breath sniffing in the stalls, 
the piles of hay in the loft, to be reached by precarious ladders, 
where by great luck an egg might be found laid by some ill-regu- 
lated hen who had "stolen her nest;" in spring the broods of 



THE WONDERS OF THE BIG BARN. 



20 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYKiA. 

chickens, so soft and downy when first hatched, with forms still 
undeveloped, like yellow eggs upon stilts walking about, and the 
deliciously grunting pigs. 

They gloried in their prowess when first allowed to drive the cows 
home from pasture. Tommy seemed to himself a magician when 
he saw the immense creatures follow the direction of his wand, 
not considering that habit and their interest in the milking-pail 
probably influenced their docility. Mary respected the cows at a 
distance, but preferred to keep on the other side of a wall when- 
ever there were any to be seen. 

"You can never tell," she said, "but what they may be a bull; 
and besides, even if they do not mean to hurt you, they are so 
clumsy in turning round they might knock you down without in- 
tending to." 

Grandmamma Seaton was a pearl of grandmothers. Her motto 
with the children was to "let them do whatever they had a mind 

to, if they could find out 




what that was." Her own 
children had never met any 
difficulty in making the dis- 
covery, and at Keene, it 
was the same with the 
grandchildren. Out of doors 
all day, the day never seem- 
ed long enough for the man- 
ifold excitements of the 
country to these little folks 
from town. At luncheon 
time, they burst into the 



kitchen for gingerbread, of 

ELIZA. 

which "Eliza" had always 
on hand an abundant supply, and then, after sweeping through the 
house with the inquiry, " Where's grandmamma ? " they would depart 
again, perfectly content, if they found *her all safe in her corner, 
engaged with book or knitting. 



RUMORS. 21 

Mrs. Horner and Philip went to sec grandmamma soon after 
they came home from abroad, to tell her all about it. But not 
very long after, news came that she had had a slight paralytic stroke, 
which affected the whole of one side, so that she could not walk. 

Poor grandmamma ! This was sad news for every one. Mrs. 
Horner went directly to Keene, and, once there, found it difficult 
to leave again. After a day or two, she sent for Tommy, who was 
now old enough to be useful in many ways. Thus the family in 
Madison Square was more uncomfortable and homeless than before 




MADISON SQUARE. 



Then came a letter from the Stuyvesants, saying that they had 
resolved to pass the winter on the Nile. Mr. Stuyvesant ended his 
letter with an urgent appeal to Mr. Horner to turn round and 
come with them, and to bring all the family. " You know," he wrote, 
44 a dahabieh, if that is what they call it, holds eight or ten 



2:> 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



comfortably, and our little family-party would be quite too small. 
Besides,, we want your society, and the wise heads of your young 
people. I dare say Miss Mary talks Arabic, or, if she does not 
yet, that she will by the time she gets there. I want to see 
Tommy riding a crocodile. Of course your charming friend, Miss 
Lejeune, must be with you." 

This letter was sent to Keene at once, for Mrs. Horner's opinion, 
which soon returned. 

It was in substance this : 

"Go without me. I must stay with mamma this winter, and 
while I am away from you, New York would be too dull. Take 
the others, and I will keep Tommy here. I have sent Mr. Stuy- 
vesant's letter to Augusta, and hope she will go with you." 

But Miss Lejeune wrote : 

" It is dreadful, but I can not, will not, must not go. If you 
would wait a year ! But no ; I recognize fully that it is the best 
plan for you to go at once. The opportunity of joining the 
Stuyvesants in the same boat, is not to be lost. All your reasons 
for going are good, and those for staying feeble. I will try to 
be in Keene part of the time, to cheer Jeannie. But without 
Tommy! What will Mr. Stuyvesant say to that?" 



A SOBER START. 



23 



CHAPTER II. 



A SOBER START. 



IFE is not all made up of sunshine. This the Homers felt 



-1— ' in contrasting the preliminaries of this excursion with the 
unalloyed rejoicings of their first Family Flight. A half-guilty feeling 
troubled the young people, who, after much urging and teasing, had 
brought about something they began by very much wishing, but 
which had lost its importance in their eyes by reason of the sacri- 
fices it entailed. Mary would have said half a dozen times : " Oh, let 
us not go without mamma and aunt Augusta!" But arrangements 
had been made, and a winter on the Nile seemed to be the easiest 
way to settle the family conundrum of " How shall we manage it ? " 

Thus they found themselves one day on the steamer Chateau 
Lafite, bound to Bordeaux. The start was very different from their 
first one. The parting was at home, or rather, at the hotel, for 
Mrs. Horner did not feel equal to' saying good-by to her dear ones 
on board the ship, and Miss Lejeune, who had shortened her 
Boston visit on purpose to be with her friends, stayed at the hotel 
with Mrs. Horner. Tommy had the choice of going to the pier 
and coming back with Mr. Agry, Mr. Horner's business partner, 
but he voluntarily selected staying behind, and, it must be con- 
fessed, fled to his little room as soon as possible, for a good cry; 
but this was not discovered by his family, and no one knows of 
it till this moment. He had behaved from the first like a little 
hero, and promised to stick to mamma through thick and thin. 
Every one pitied and praised him, and this helped him to hold out 
stoutly. Various diversions were promised him in the course of 
the winter, and mysterious nods and smiles hinted at remote 




24 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

rewards in the future. But all this could not prevent the actual 
sight of the departure from being pretty bad. It was hard for 
Tommy, but he went through it manfully, and only the damp 
pocket handkerchiefs left in his room that day, bore witness to his 
grief. 

The next morning he returned with his mother to Keene, and 
they settled down for a quiet winter with grandmamma, who was 
now so much better that she could take an interest in all that 
was going on. They must depend for enjoyment chiefly on the 
letters of the travellers ; and these had been plentifully promised. 




MISS lejeune's apartment. 



Miss Lejeune, having thus prematurely broken off her Boston 
visit, returned to her own little apartment in New York, and to 
her round of charities, philanthropies, and afternoon-teas. Her 
recent taste at the fountains of foreign tongues, gave a new 



A SOBER START. 26 

impulse in that direction, and, in her special circle, there were 
now Kaffee Gesellschaften, Italian conversazione, and French soirees. 
In all these meetings no English allowed. 

Meanwhile, the little band of travelling Homers, now reduced 
to a quartette, were again steaming across the Atlantic by a more 
southerly track than on their previous voyages. The Compagnie 
Bordelaise has a new line of steamers to the south of France, 
landing at Bordeaux, and thus bringing its passengers near the 
.Mediterranean, and all points of interest in Southern Europe. 
It was this that recommended the line to Mr. Horner ; in fact, 
he and Mr. Hervey, on their return voyage, had talked the 
matter over, and quite decided then, that for the beginning of 
an Eastern trip, it would be an excellent plan to start this way. 
They little thought, while discussing vague future plans, that this 
one would so soon be put in practise. Mr. Hervey, by the way, 
fully approved of the Egyptian winter, and only regretted that he 
could not be with the party. Unfortunately, he could not. even 
come to New York, to say good-by. The Horners had not seen 
him since they parted on arriving from Liverpool. 

In spite, however, of the saddened feelings with which they 
began this voyage, it proved a pleasant one. The steamer was 
new, large, and comfortable ; there were but few passengers, and 
thus they had the ship almost to themselves. The usual seasick 
experiences pursued them, but they received them, as all other 
misadventures of travel, with the philosophy prescribed by Miss Lejeune. 

Just before starting, Mr. Horner had received another letter 
from Mr. Stuyvesant, which, with the answer he had time to 
forward, in order that it should reach its destination before they 
did, made their course simple and plain. 

The Stuyvesants were to leave Paris about the same time that 
the Horners sailed from New York. This gave them a start of ten 
or twelve clays. They would pass this interval at Cairo, during which 
Mr. Stuyvesant would be making all the necessary arrangements 
for a trip up the Nile, engaging a dahabieh and a dragoman, and 
attending to the outfit .of the Nile voyage. These terms, which 



26 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

sounded mysterious to the Horners, afterwards explained themselves 
sufficiently. 

This was all there was to be gathered from the brief, crisp 
letter of Mr. Stuyvesant. The Horners rather enjoyed the doubt 
they were in about the party which they were to join,— how large 
it was to be, and of whom to consist. As they approached the 
shores of France, their interest in this question increased, and they 
often discussed among themselves how they should like the Stuy- 
vesants as travelling companions. 

Mr. Stuyvesant had urged them to make all haste in reaching 
Egypt; otherwise they would have liked to stop at Bordeaux, a 




ROMAN CIRCUS, BORDEAUX. 



picturesque town, of old Roman origin, and otherwise historically 
interesting. " More than half English," according to Bessie. A 



A SOBER START. 27 

rather strong expression, although it was for three hundred years 
in the possession of England. 

The proud wife of Henry II. of England, Eleanor of Aquitaine, 
who, according to romance, gave to the unfortunate fair Rosamond 
the choice of poison or the dagger, brought with her as her 
marriage portion all her fair lands in the south of France. She 
had been queen and wife of the King of France, Louis VII., and 
brought to him her Aquitaine, which thus became part of F ranee ; 
but this king had ill-luck in his crusade. It began well. He 
started for the Holy Land accompanied by Queen Eleanor, and an 
army a hundred thousand strong ; the King and his abbot, 
Bernard of Clairvaux, cut up their cloaks for crosses to fasten upon 
the sleeves of the crusaders, but every thing went wrong. The troops 
missed their way, and were cut to pieces, marching overland 
towards Constantinople, while the King and his nobles, comfortably 




BOATS IN THE GARONNE. 



taking ship, arrived safely and ignominiously at Jerusalem, said 
their prayers at the Holy Sepulchre, and came home without one 
of the brave soldiers who had set out with them two years before. 
This was in 1149. Everybody was disgusted with the King. His 
popularity was gone. Eleanor obtained a divorce, and soon after 
married Henry of England ; and from that time Bordeaux, the 
capital of the Duchy of Aquitaine, became English, with the rest 
of it, and so remained for three centuries, after which the French 
with the help of Joan of Arc, won back pretty much the whole of 



28 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 




France. Bordeaux was the last city to submit to Charles VIL, the 
French king, and this was not till 1453. 

The Black Prince was born in Bordeaux, and afterwards made it 
the seat of his court. It has a cathedral and a church, built during 
the English period, and a still older church, of the seventh century, 
restored by Charlemagne. All these things Bessie, the chief history- 
student of the Homers, would have liked to see. 
Also, their fellow passengers assured them that 
the modern town was well-built, and worth see- 
ing. It might have been possible to stop over 
in Bordeaux, to get a glimpse of it, but the 
steamer was not so fast as had been hoped, 
for some reason, and the voyage which was 
to be eleven days, was all of twelve. They 
would land just in time to catch the night 
train for Marseilles, by which they were to 
cross the lower part of France, with close con- 
nections, in about fifteen hours. 

They had, however, the beautiful sail up the 
wide Garonne, from its mouth to Bordeaux,— seventy miles of lovely 
French scenery. 

The Homers were now once more happy. The delightful trav- 
elling-feeling was again coming over them in all its force. Mary 
made a dozen little sketches when they were near enough to the 
shore. Philip ran from one side of the ship to another, to make 
out different objects. They were full of gay talk and laughter, 
though constantly regretting the absence of the rest of the party. 

"Now it is time for mamma to ask, 'Are you sure you have 
got every thing ? ' " said Mary. 

"Yes," growled Philip; "and then to find out that she has left 
her own bag below, and send me after it." 

"Poor mamma," said Mary, laughing. "I guess she wishes she 
were here, although this getting off steamers is what she hates 
the most." 

They arrived. They were hurried down the steep sides of their 



OFFICIAL. 




ARRIVING AT BORDEAUX. 



A SOBER START. 9X 

steamer, and landed by a small boat. On shore every thing was 
delightfully French, even to the uniforms of the government officials. 

They hurried to the station, which was close at hand ; found wagons- 
lits fortunately, and slept soundly as the train rushed over the unknown 
country through the darkness. The change from a state-room to 
a "sleeper" is a confusing one; but these especial Homers who 
were undergoing it, were the stalwarts of their party, and joined 
each other comparatively fresh in the morning ; after breakfast, they 
watched the scenery on their route, which draws near the lovely 
Mediterranean shore some time before reaching Marseilles. On 
their way they passed, without seeing it, the old walled town of 
Carcassonne. 





i 



32 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER III. 

FROM MARSEILLES. 

IT was touch and go, for the Mediterranean steamer was to sail 
on the 15th, and the Homers with all their haste, could 
only reach Marseilles on the evening of the 14th. Mr. Horner 
sent at once to inquire about their state-rooms, for which he 
had telegraphed from Bordeaux, and was promptly waited upon 
by a polite emissary of the purser, who told him that as his 
order had arrived so late, and as the steamer was crowded, their 
accommodations would not be of the best, but only the best that 
could be done. At this season of the year these steamers are always 
full of passengers for India, — chiefly English people who have 
been passing the hot months at home, now returning to their 
posts. The state-rooms, which now began to be called cabins, on 
" Messageries " steamers are many of them quite large, and made 
to accommodate, or rather to incommode, three. Mary and Bessie 
were offered two berths in one of these cabins, with an English 
lady travelling alone, while Philip and his father were to be 
separated, and billeted each upon an unknown companion. It was 
not pleasant, but the only alternative was to stop over in Marseilles 
for a week. Mr. Horner determined to accept the arrangement, 
thinking perhaps some 'change might be effected after the start, 
by which he and Philip could share the same cabin. 

All was bustle and confusion in the courtyard of the hotel. 
Much English talk, and squabbling with porters, came to the ears 
of the Homers as they were waiting to take their places in the 
omnibus for the pier. Bessie's French did good service in coming 
to the rescue of a stout Englishman in a pith-hat, who had no 




PALACE OF LONGCHAMPo 



FROM MARSEILLES. :*5 

words at his command with which to make the French understand 
what he wanted done with his baggage. 

" Je — veux, ah — allez — steamer, you know," was the way he 
expressed himself. 

Great was his amazement at the volubility with which the little 
American turned his attempt at a sentence into French. 




NOTRE DAME BE LA GARDE, MARSEILLES. 

All they saw of Marseilles, the rich, brilliant city of Southern 
France, was their glimpse as they drove to the steamer. The 
handsomest of the many fine streets is the Cannebiere, thronged 
with crowds of different nations, t urban ed Orientals, Greeks, Italians, 
French and English. Upon one of the surrounding hills stands the 
beautiful church of Notre Dame de la Garde. 

Marseilles is the ancient Massilia, in its palmy days the rival 
of Carthage and the ally of Rome. At one time it was celebrated 



36 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

as a seat of learning, and was even called the new Athens. But 
commerce has given it its modern fame. The Palace of Longchamp 
is a fine specimen of modern architecture, finished in 1869. 

Philip and Bessie walked about, oh their arrival on board the 
steamer, with the air of connoisseurs, noting the difference in 
build and plan, while Mary, with her father, went below to inspect 
the cabin, which was to be her home and Bessie's for the next 
few days. Mrs. Campbell, who was to share it with them, had 
arrived, but was away somewhere about the ship. Her hand- 
bags and wraps, neatly set in a corner of her sofa, looked 
as if they belonged to a lady. Mary felt relieved, and tried 
to give an equally reassuring air to her own things and 
Bessie's, which she meant to leave below, and, summoning to her 
aid Miss Lejeune's constant injunction to accept the chances of 
travel with amusement instead of annoyance, she left the cabin 
and joined her father, who wore rather a long face after seeing 
the narrow quarters allotted to himself and Phil. 

When they came up on deck again, they found Bessie and 
Philip leaning against the high bulwark watching the shore, and 
chatting easily with a stranger, whom Mary did not at first 
recognize as the gentleman who had sat next them the evening 
before at dinner at the hotel. He was a pleasant-looking man 
with gray hair and whiskers ; he had a polite, but at the same 
time easy manner, and seemed already to be on the best of terms 
with his young companions. 

"Papa," said Philip, coloring at the formality of making an 
introduction, " this is Colonel Leigh ; and this is my father, 
Colonel Leigh; — Mr. Horner, of New York." Philip had heard the 
name of his new friend a little while before, and thought it best 
to do things in style, as he afterwards explained to Bessie. 

Colonel Leigh was an Englishman holding some important office 
in India; he had made countless trips back and forward between 
India and England, and was now returning to his post, having 
passed the summer at home, where he had left his wife and 
children. He proved a most agreeable companion, not only to Mr. 



FROM MARSEILLES. 89 

Horner, but to the girls, with whom he became a great favorite. 
The wonderful part was, that when they came to shake down 
the first night, it was he who was to share the cabin with Philip, 
while Mr. Horner had a berth in the purser's own private room. 
As they all, by this time, had full confidence in their newly- 
found friend, Philip begged his father not to try to make any 
change, and the Colonel was only too glad to have an intelligent 
and well-bred boy for his room-mate. He also quietly arranged to 
have his place next to Mary at table, and thus, as usual, the 
Homers formed by themselves a pleasant little party, with one new 
element to give variety to their impressions, and add new informa- 
tion to their ever-growing stock. 

They missed Miss Lejeune " fearfully, " as Bessie wrote; "almost 
as much as mamma." Indeed, at first it seemed impossible for them 
to get along at all without her experience of the world, her quick obser- 
vation, and her bright acquiescence in the difficulties that must arise. 
But her absence had this advantage, that it threw the others more 
upon their own resources. Mary, especially, was already developing 
into a full-grown young lady. She took her father's arm as they 
went about the ship, and came forward with self-possession to 
give an order to a steward, or to take her part in the courtesies 
of life. She was very pretty, and very intelligent, and had a light 
little laugh of her own, which showed her appreciation of the good 
things in conversation. It was no wonder that Colonel Leigh liked 
to sit by her and draw her out, and to talk to her about India 
and his wider experience of travel. 

The waves were sparkling, the sky was blue, and the air warm. 
They were passing the Chateau dTf, where Dumas immured his 
hero, Edmond Dantes, who was to become the famous Count of 
Monte-Christo. "There is the very place," said Colonel Leigh, 
"where he was thrown off into the sea in a bag, with the bullet 
round his leg. " 

"What!" exclaimed Bessie, who had not read the book. 

"Why, don't you know," said Philip, "in order to escape, he 
pretended he was a man who had died in the next cell, and so 



40 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

they thought he was, and threw him into the sea ; but he had 
not thought beforehand about the bullet." 
" Was he drowned ? " 

" No ; he managed to get out his knife and cut a slit in the 
bag, and cut off the bullet, and then swim up to the surface." 
"What rubbish!" said scornful Bessie. 

" But there is the very place," urged Colonel Leigh. " Don't you 
see the chateau and the wall, and the port-holes through which 
they fired at him, after they discovered the trick ? " 

Bessie did not reply, but she returned to him a sharp glance 
which expressed her willingness to be chaffed, . but her determina- 
tion not to be imposed upon. He understood it, and from that 
time they were great friends. 

" Only think that we are really on the Mediterranean," said 

Mary, as she leaned 
over and looked down 
into the waves as the 
steamer moved sol- 
idly on through them, 
and glanced at the 
numerous sails which 
were scattered about 
at different distances. 
" And this is the summer sea ! " she added dreamily. 

"This Gulf of Lyons, however," said Colonel Leigh, "is a treach- 
erous part of the summer sea, and is quite capable of terrific storms." 

In fact, before dark, and in spite of a beautiful sunset which 
was going on, Bessie had to go below in a hurry, for it was 
growing very rough, and the ship was tossing about with a choppy 
motion they were not accustomed to. Bessie plunged into the cabin, 
and found the sofa already occupied by a delicate, slender little 
woman, very pale, with closed eyes. 

" I beg your pardon," stammered poor Bessie. 
£4 Come in, come in," said a gentle voice very English in tone. 
"You are quite welcome. I am not sick, only" — 




SUMMER SEA. 



FROM MARSEILLES. 



11 



" I am ! " cried poor Bessie, and fell into her berth with all 
speed. Mary was always now the one to climb to the top berth, 
for she was almost U Jj&| never afflicted by the 



motion of ships, .. 
Bessie always had %|§hlp 



while poor 



her man vats 
quart d'heure at 




Before 
long, how- 
ever, she was 
able to talk, 
and begin an 

acquaintance with Mrs. Campbell, 
who was now making her fifth 
trip back to India. She was very 
sad and lonely, having parted at 
Marseilles with her brother, while 
her three children had said farewell ten days before in London. 
Bessie thought her very sweet and lovely, and pitied her very 
much, and resolved, as she lay in her berth, trying to get the 
best of her feelings, that she never would marry an Indian officer. 



AT MARSEILLES. 



42 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER IV. 

MALTA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN. 

THERE was something of a storm that night, and things were 
tossed about a good deal on board the Nyanza, but the weather 
cleared towards morning, and there ensued several lovely days and 
evenings, for the moon was full on one of them, and flooded the 
ocean and the deck with delicious light. 

This short voyage of five days to Alexandria, was one of the 
pleasantest in the Homers' experience, in spite of their diminished 
party, for their quarters were comfortable, their companions pleas- 
ant, and the climate soft and balmy. Their favorite seat on deck 
was what they called the hump, a raised place with windows along 
its sides, to give light to the cabin below, which had also a part 
open for ventilation, making a slanting place for the back. Here 
Mary sketched a little ; Bessie had her knitting. Mrs. Campbell 

sometimes joined them, though she 
- spent a great many hours in 

'^ c ^^&^: her cabin, poor little woman, shed- 

^ ■^^ : ^' : fi^- J J^% ding tears, it is to be feared, 

1 over tne Photographs of her absent 

-i : J^^ J W^k^ J^^ L ~-- children. And here Colonel Leigh 
- ^MfiBMC \ \ . passed a great deal of his time ; 
f^jK _ ^^JSm^^K' ^§ ^ or tnou gh ne nac ^ otn er acquaint- 
- * board, he had taken a 

great fancy to his young Americans. 
There were over one hundred pas- 
sengers on board, nearly all of whom 
were bound for India, Bombay, or Calcutta, — long voyages, which 



MKS. CAMPBELL'S CHILDREN. 




B0NAPA11TE. 



MALTA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN. 45 

made Alexandria appear like a half-way stopping-place, and the trip 
up the Nile but a trivial excursion. 

Colonel Leigh told them that soon after passing through the Suez 
Canal, it would begin to grow hotter and hotter, so that all the 
ventilators would have to be open, punkas going, and yet all 
would be gasping for breath ; and he gave them a dismal account 
of Aden, on the Red Sea, which is built in the crater of an 
extinct volcano, the hottest, dustiest, dreariest place that can be 




ST. PAUL'S BAY. 



imagined. In spite of his description, Bessie and Phil, who were 
becoming insatiate travellers, longed to push on through the Canal 
and get to Bombay, at least. 

The Messageries steamers touch at Malta, but on this trip 
suffered no passengers to go ashore, for fear that it would 
detain them in quarantine on arriving off Alexandria. The mails 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



were sent ashore after dark, and before morning they were up and 
away. Philip would have liked to visit in Malta the relics of the 
famous Knights of St. John. On the floor of St. John's Church, 
the arms of all the Grand Masters are to be seen, inlaid in various 
colored marbles, and in the Armory are the fighting-suits of all 
the brave old commanders. These things Colonel Leigh told them 
about, for he had landed many times. 

The whole title of this order is " Knights Hospitallers of the 

order of St. John of Jerusalem. " 



It arose rapidly to fame, for its worth and valor, and served valiantly 
against the infidel, although the Knights of St. John were always 
involved in disputes with the Knights Templars. After the fall 
of Jerusalem and Acre, the Knights retired to one island after 
another in the Mediterranean, where they maintained their rights 
with the greatest bravery,' in seige after seige. They held the 
island of Rhodes for more than two centuries ; it was finally 
wrenched from them by the Turks in 1522. Charles V. ceded to 
them, among other places, the island of Malta, which was 




Early in the eleventh century a 
number of Italian merchants estab- 
lished an asylum for Latin pil- 
grims at Jerusalem, with the per- 
mission of the authorities. Many 
pilgrims entered the hospital and 
devoted themselves to its service. 
It received large contributions and 
became wealthy. Many of the 
crusaders, following the example 
of Godfrey of Bouillon, bestowed 
upon it landed property in Europe. 
Some of them joined the order, 
which, though at first organized 
for charitable purposes only, after- 
wards received the character of a 
religious and military constitution. 



KNIGHT OF ST. JOHN". 



MALTA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN. 



47 



then but a barren rock ; the Knights made it one of the strongest 
places in the world, and they carried on the war with the Turks 
with so much energy, that they gained a new name, the Knights 
of Malta. The defence of their island against the Turks in 1565, 
• raised the fame of the order to its height, and for two centuries 
more it enjoyed the world's esteem ; but at the end of the eight- 
eenth century, the quarrel between Musselmans and Christians was 
at an end, and its occupation was gone. The order encountered 
the enmity of the French republicans, and Napoleon Bonaparte, on 
his way to Egypt in 1798, put an end to it, as to many another 
historic and romantic thing. Russia then became the protector of 
the order, but it has since maintained but a shadowy existence, 
the last relic of the age of chivalry. 

The ocean was so smooth, and the days were so tranquil, that 
Mary and her father got out 
their guide-book for Egypt 
and other text books, to 
read up for the coming jour- 
ney up the Nile. 

Mr. Stuyvesant and his 
party had preceded them, 
and they were to meet him 
in Cairo, expecting to find 
all the material preparations, 
such as procuring a Nile 
boat and securing a drago- 
man, clone before they ar- 
rived. But there is no jour- 
ney which requires more 
mental preparation than this 
one, although it is often un- 
dertaken with but little or 
none. To approach the Pyra- PRIEST OF ST - J()IIN - 

mid of Cheops, to visit the home of Rameses, and view the ruins of Cleo- 
patra's greatness, without any knowledge of the ancestors and descend- 




48 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

ants of these sovereigns, or a letter of introduction to their persons, is 
an impertinence of which only the nineteenth century is capable, 
and yet, the modern facility of travelling is so great, and the 
mania for going somewhere, anywhere, so prevalent, that in the 
very heart of the venerable Temple of Karnak, an indifferent tourist may 
be heard to say, tapping some valuable carving with his cane, that 
"antiquities are a bore!" 

This certainly was not the frame of mind of the Homers. The 
monolith, called "Cleopatra's Needle," in New York, had already 
pricked their curiosity, pointing toward the East; and in the 
Louvre the strange collection of mummies and sarcophagi had 
roused a great desire to penetrate farther into Egyptian darkness. 
They were prepared to approach its mysteries with intelligent 
inquiry, not unmixed with a little awe, and meant to find time, 
as they could, to read enough upon the subject to understand 
at least what they were looking at. The delightful novels by George 
Ebers, Bessie and Mary read with Miss Lejeune as soon as their 
German made it easy to enjoy them in the original; and they 
now talked about Bent-Anat and Uarda, his fair heroines, in the 
fond hope of meeting some trace of them upon the Nile. 

Neither Colonel Leigh nor Mrs. Campbell had gone farther in 
Egypt than to Cairo, but both of them had seen the Pyramids ; 
for before the Suez Canal was cut, the route to India was across 
a bit of Egypt, by rail, from Alexandria to Cairo, and so down 
to the Red Sea. They both shared the interest of the Homers 
in their approaching study of the Egyptian monuments. 

" Oh, dear ! " exclaimed Bessie, thowing down her Murray s Hand- 
book for Egypt, " I don't believe I shall pretend to understand it. The 
German Emperors is baby-talk to these dreadful Egyptian dynasties. 
It is all very well to learn one date for a king ; but when each 
of them has two or three, I give it up." 

Colonel Leigh took up the book, and found the discouraging 
chronological table which had so disheartened her. 

" My dear child, do not, pray, attempt to grapple with any thing 
like remembering all this ! You will find . the table immensely 



MALTA AND THE MEDITERRANEAN. 51 

convenient, especially with the help of this column called Events, 
and as you see, one after another, the chief monuments of impor- 
tance, a few of them will associate themselves in your mind with 
their founder, or builder, or destroyer, and their 'dates,' as you 
call them, will remain in your mind." 

"Do not you remember, Bessie," said Philip, "what a muddle we 
were in about the Emperors until after we saw the pictures in the 
Romer? For my part, I mean not to read up beforehand, but take 
things as they come. I shall find out a lot about it, I dare say, 
if my head is good and empty to begin with;" and he ran off to 
make some interesting discovery about the splicing of rope among 
the sailors, with whom he was on terms of some intimacy. 

Philip's plan was not a bad one, although it did not satisfy 
the ambition of his sisters. Still, while the observations of the 
Homers in Egypt were not so superficial as that of some tourists, 
they were not learned enough to dip very deeply into the matter of 
hieroglyphic research, and it is to be feared that their notes would 
add nothing to the knowledge of Egypt- 
ologists. They wanted to enjoy a great 
many things besides the antiquities, and 
while they were ready to devote thought 
to the past of this solemn old land, they 
found the present very absorbing. Egypt 
is a place of many attractions ; if it had 
no past, it would be enchanting on ac- 
count of the exceptional beauty of its scen- 
ery and its picturesque inhabitants — man, 

1 PAPYRUS. 

bird, and beast. The long, level lines of 

sand and green fields stretching back from the river, broken by 
upright palms alone, a string of slow-moving camels seen against 
the sky, make a scene worth coming for in itself. But this is to 
anticipate, for the Horners are now only approaching Alexandria. 




52 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER V. 

ARRIVAL. 

ACCORDING to the advice of her friend, the Colonel, Bessie 
had given over learning by heart the dynasties and kings 
of Egypt since 5000 b. c, and had contented herself for the 
present with reading the full account in Murray, of Alexandria, 
ancient and modern. Like Mary and Philip, she was eagerly 
looking forward, on the last days of the voyage, to the first 
glimpse of the harbor and the ancient Pharos ; so it was a dis- 
appointment, that, as it turned out, they approached the city after 
dark, and came to anchor, to wait till morning. The moon which 
had made every evening delicious, rose now too late to show any 
thing of the town. Only a long line of something before them, 
and a sense that it was land, and not water, explained the stopping 
of the engines. 

A large steamer at rest, after the clang and clatter of the 
huge machinery has ceased, seems, to its inmates, about the stillest 
place possible ; and that night in their berths, was one of absolute 
silence. Every footfall of the softly-moving stewards, every spoon 
let drop in the saloon, was startling. The Homers, — Bessie and 
Mary, — excited by anticipation, and missing the rocking of their great 
sea-cradle, slept not very well, and early in the morning were both 
awake, even before the clamor and confusion began which belongs 
to the arrival at Alexandria. They sprang up and dressed quickly. 
The passage-way was dark, but Philip was waiting for them. Shawl- 
straps were fastened up, and they hastened upon deck, already 
swarming with strange figures, for the steamer was surrounded with 
small boats steered by Arabs of dusty hue, and such a yelling and 



screaming ! They were howling and squabbling over their passen- 
gers like vultures for their prey. The girls were half frightened, 
and very glad to see Colonel Leigh, who approached them smiling. 

"Is not this a tumult?" he said. "1 just met your father. He 
will be here directly, and we shall get off in time. There is no 
hurry, and some of these beggars will take us." 




ON THE NILE. 



''Take us!" exclaimed Bessie. "Are we going in one of those 
things ? " 

They leaned over the side to watch the scrimmage, and also to 
look ' across it at the long, low town, lying at a considerable dis- 
tance. Philip saw approaching a large and pretty boat, rowed 
quietly, and with regular strokes, by several sailors ; and in front was 
a little flag that looked like the beloved Stars and Stripes. A 



54 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

gentleman sat in the stern, and as he approached, he waved his 
handkerchief at some one on board. It seemed very much as if 
the salute was aimed at the Homers, but how could it be ? At 
this moment Mr. Horner joined his children. 

"See! see!" he exclaimed with excitement. "It is Stuyvesant 
himself! He is waving at us!" 

"Mr. Stuyvesant here!" they all cried; for the plan was to join 
him at Cairo. 

"How splendid!" said Bessie. "I guess he came on purpose to 
meet us." 

So he had, and very fortunate it was, and considerate on his 
part ; for by securing a comfortable and pleasant boat for them, he 
saved them all worry and confusion. He brought with him, more- 
over, the janizary of the American Consul, a wonderful creature 
in turban and full trousers, bearing in his hand a long wand with 
a gold head, which cleared the way and made every thing easy. 

Thus their landing was accomplished very comfortably. They 
were impatient to be off, but there was one cause of regret, and 
that was parting with the dear Colonel Leigh. The gentlemen 
hoped he would come ashore in their boat, as the steamer would 
be some time at her moorings, but he declined. They hoped to 
meet again in Alexandria, but they never did ; and this was the 
last of their pleasant Indian acquaintance, except an amusing letter 
which he sent later on to Bessie, from Calcutta. 

Philip thoughtfully found little Mrs. Campbell, to see if there was 
any thing he could do for her ; but she thanked him, saying she 
wanted nothing but to be at the end of her long voyage. She 
was sorry to lose the girls, for they had been so kind and cheery 
during the passage, that, as she assured them, their room would 
not be half so good as their company. 

Now nothing remained but to descend into the pretty boat which 
was awaiting them. They sank down upon red leather cushions, 
and were pulled off, waving and nodding at Colonel Leigh, and 
several other passengers with whom they had made a slight 
acquaintance. 



" Another of our clear voyages is done," said Bessie with a sigh. 
It was a long pull across the water to the wharf, and their 
interest in approaching" Alexandria was inferior to the pleasure of 




ALEXANDRIA. 



meeting their genial friend Mr. Stuyvesant, who had much to say 
and hear ; for in spite of the letter which had time to reach him, 
explaining the Homers' plan, it was hard for him to understand it. 

" No Tommy ! " he exclaimed more than once. " I do not believe 
I should have asked you to come without Tommy." 

"Is it not too bad?" replied Mary. "We miss him all the 
time, and he would enjoy it so ! " 

"And Miss Lejeune ! I felt sure she would come with you," 
he continued. 

Mr. Horner said : " Augusta was very sorry not to come, and I 
am very sorry that we should make any trip without her. I think 
her income does not allow her to spend another year abroad so 
soon. In fact, I think she spent a little more in Paris than she 
would have done if she had planned another travelling winter." 



56 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

"So-ho!" cried Mr. Stuyvesant; " she spent all her money in 
good clothes, and so she must stay at home and wear them ! " 

" That is not fair!" exclaimed indignant Philip. "I think aunt 
Gus would not come because mamma did not." 

" My wife," said Mr. Horner, " depends so much upon Miss 
Lejeune, that it is indeed a great comfort to have her near at 
hand. I hope Augusta will be able to pass a part of the winter 
in Keene, where she has as many old friends as we, and that will 
break the time for them both." 

"Now, papa," said Mary, laying her hand upon her father's, 
"you must not put on that grieved look. Remember aunt Gus, 

and ' fix your mind upon 
the present moment, 
not to lose the im- 
pression of it.' " 

Mary assumed so 
much of the air and 
manner of Miss Lejeune 
as she quoted this, that 
they all laughed, and 
turned to look upon 
the white walls and fiat 
lines of Alexandria, now 
close upon them. 

Guide-books, tourists, 
and residents, are unani- 
mous in calling Alex- 
andria an European city 
in appearance ; but to 
the Homers, on their 
arrival, it appeared Ori- 
ental enough. On land- 
ing they were sur- 
rounded by a swarm of donkey-boys and carriage-drivers, and 
after some delay, finding themselves in a shabby open carriage, 




WAT ETC SELLER. 




EGYPTIAN FELLAH WOMAN. 



ARRIVAL. 



with two gaunt horses driven by a dusky Arab dressed to imitate 
a ragged cockney, they were carried through the narrow streets to 
their hotel, at the further end of the 
Place Meliemet Ali. 

The streets were crammed with 
camels, donkeys, Arabs, and strange 
sights ; and though the flat-roofed houses 
were not Oriental, except that here and 
there were glimpses of latticed windows 
and rounded arches, still the glare of 
whitewash, scattered with bright-colored 
paint, green, red, and yellow, gave an 
effect wholly un-American, and equally 
unlike the French or German cities they 
were acquainted with. 

No sooner had they reached their 
hotel, than they hastened to the bal- 
cony looking upon the square, where 

were a number 
T ellers al- 
and while the two gentlemen were 
vith choosing rooms and disposing of 
;e, Mary, Bessie, and Philip, were ab- 
sorbed in watching what was 
going on in the street below. 
The morning was fresh and cool, 
and in an arched doorway op- 
posite, was sitting a lazy Arab, 
of a beautiful brown color, with 
legs bare, but a sort of pointed 
hood, belonging to a dark bur- 
noose, drawn over his head, the 
peak sticking up. He was lazily 
joined by another, and then 
street figures. another. The three sat, silent 





ON THE BALCONY. 



60 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVEE EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



and motionless, in a row, like three owls on a bough. A boy 
with a chestnut-roaster howled out his wares in an unknown tongue. 
Donkeys went jingling by with pretty bells and red trappings. 

The shops on the square looked like other shops 
in other cities, but strange people went in and 
out, of every color and costume, from the Euro- 
pean fine lady to the Egyptian fellah. They 
leaned upon the railing, breathless and with 
wide-open eyes, pointing out new sights to each 
other. 

"Well, how do you like Alexandria?" asked 
Mr. Stuyvesant ; and turning, they saw him stand- 
ing in the long window, smiling, with his hands 
in his pockets. 

"Oh! can't we stay here awhile?" they all. 
exclaimed. 

" Why, yes ; I don't see why not. You 
will never be amused at it again, and there is 
no hurry. I have just been proposing to your 
father that we should stop over at least till 
to-morrow, and go out to Pompey's Pillar. They say the drive 
on the canal is worth seeing." 

Mr. Horner joined them now, and said : 

" Agreed, if you think Mrs. Stuyvesant will be content." 

" Oh ! she is all right. She has Emily and the boys." 




ALEXANDRIA, 



61 



CHAPTER VI. 



ALEXANDRIA. 




ONG ago, (b. c. 322,) Alexandria, founded by Alexander the 



•I—' Great, was a celebrated city of many inhabitants, adorned 
with the arts of Greece and the wealth of Egypt ; its schools of 
learning, its luxury and magnificence, made it the first city of the 
world. But after the third century of the Christian era, its splen- 
dor and renown began to wane, and all that we know of its his- 
tory from that time, is a picture of decay. Its commerce, which 
was the great source of its wealth, decreased during the changes 
of government in Egypt ; and the conquest of the country by the 
Turks, gave the final blow ; so that a hundred years ago it was 
only a small and miserable town. When Mahomet Ali came to 
rule in Egypt, in the early part of this century, he set about 
restoring its ancient capital. New buildings sprang up in the 
Frank quarter, apart from the old town, and at present there is 
a large and prosperous population, but none of the ancient 
splendor. 

There is but little trace of the old town ; even the precise spot 
is uncertain where the Museum stood, containing the famous library 
of four hundred thousand volumes, collected by the Ptolemies, which 
was destroyed during the war of Julius Caesar with the Alexandrians. 
For he, to prevent his communication with the sea being cut off, set 
fire to the fleet in the harbor ; the flames spread to the town, and 
the valuable collection of books, which had cost so much trouble 
and expense to collect, was lost forever ; in it, doubtless, many 
works of antiquity that we now shall never know any thing about. 

Even the two obelisks, called Cleopatra's Needles, are now gone, 



02 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OYER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



which marked the site of the Palace of the Kings, on the point 
called Lochias. Mary and Bessie, whose minds were fresh from 
the description of Alexandria in the time of Adrian, as it is care- 
fully given by Ebers, in his novel der Kaiser, ought to have 
been disappointed, to be able to find so little to mark the places 
there mentioned; but it is all so different now, — waste and barren, 
delivered over to sand and dirt, crumbling Arab huts, ragged 
cactus hedges, and the desolation of neglect— that they could not 

bring their imag- 
inations to build- 
ing palaces upon 
the spot. 

"I think," said 
Mary, " I had a 
better idea of 
ancient Alexan- 
dria before I had 
seen the modern 
one." 

" Well, no mat- 
ter," replied Bes- 
sie, "I don't care 
much about it, 
anyway ; but I 
love those little 
donkeys ; I hope 
we shall have a 
ride on one." 

"When you 
get to Cairo," 
said Mr. Stuyve- 
sant, " you can 
ride every day 

if you like, and the donkeys are still prettier there than here." 
They drove out to see Pompey's Pillar, a graceful shaft and 




POMPEY'S PILLAR. 



ALEXANDRIA. • 66 

pedestal, "but modern," pronounced Bessie; "quite too modern for 
us ; only a. d. 296." It stands on a barren sandy place near a 
Mohammedan burying-ground ; also a dreary spot, where they first 
noticed the lean, savage-looking clogs that wander about the streets 
of Alexandria, and at night howl and bark very unpleasantly. 
The prettiest thing they saw in Alexandria was the canal which 
comes from the Nile to the city ; for Alexandria is not on the 
river. The right bank of the canal is bordered for some distance 
by pretty villas and gardens belonging to the rich residents of 
the town, and the flowers which adorn these houses were an en- 
chanting contrast to the sandy desolation of the rest of the 
country. Nothing grows in Egypt without artificial watering ; but 
here, and wherever water is close at hand, vegetation springs up, 
as it were, at the first sprinkling, and grows with mad luxuriance. 
Although it was late in October, superb morning-glories of celes- 
tial blue, spread their wide blossoms over lattices, and kept open 
all day. Tall arbutilons stretched up and nodded their blossoms at 
second-story windows. Poinsettia, the shrub with brilliant scarlet 
flower-leaves, grows to be a tree in Alexandria, and is very showy. 
As they drove along the canal, the Homers were constantly exclaim- 
ing at the beauty of some new blossoming vine hanging about 
the railing of a veranda. They would have liked a visit at one of 
these houses, built for pleasure and the enjoyment of the warm 
climate, with long windows opening on balconies which command 
a view of the broad canal and its flat, low borders : on the side 
they were, the well-built driveway close to the water, on the 
other a row of neglected native houses, the color of the soil, heaps 
of straw thrown about, donkeys browsing upon nothing at all, 
hens and chickens pecking at what they could find, and staring- 
little brown Arabs in dirty blue gowns, doing nothing, with their 
fingers in their mouths. Here and there a date-garden was to be 
seen, inclosed within high walls. It was the season for the fruit, 
and the ripe clusters of dates hanging beneath the feather-like 
tuft of leaves at the top of a date-palm, was very pretty and 
very appetizing. The Homers had already had a taste of the 



66 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVEK EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

sweet, fresh dates, which are as different from those that reach 
us, dried and packed in masses, as living in the time of Alexan- 
der the Great was different from learning a list of his conquests. 




EGYPTIAN PALM-GROVE, 

" Even Tommy would be able to bear these dates," remarked 

Bessie, as she was cutting round the skin of a luscious one, and 

turning it back before popping the juicy pulp into her mouth. 



ALEXANDRIA. 0U 

u He would want to go up a tree and get them," said Mr. 
Stuyvesant ; " I am told it is very amusing to see that done." 

" I wonder how they manage it," said Mr. Horner ; " the trees 
are so immensely high." 

"We must try and find out while we are at Cairo." 

Mr. Horner's interest in the first Napoleon led the party to the 
site of the so-called Caesar's Camp. The first battle on this spot 
was followed by the deaths of Antony and Cleopatra ; the second 
is famous in English history, as it was the one which put an end 
to French control in Egypt. 

The brief period of Napoleon in Egypt, is one of the most 
interesting episodes of his career. A young man, and already dis- 
tinguished by his first victories, he was sent to Egypt by the 
French Directory, which wished, perhaps, to get rid of so ambitious 
a youth, at the head of an expedition meant to gain for the 
French the control of the land passage to India. This was really 
a contest with the English, who then held Egypt as a dependency 
(although the Sultan of Turkey called it his), and who had no 
wish to relinquish their rights there. In less than six months 
Napoleon, having seized Malta on his way, took Alexandria by 
storm, encountered and defeated the Mamelukes, fought the famous 
battle of the Pyramids, and thus gained Cairo. Unluckily for him, 
Nelson, fighting for England, on the first of August destroyed the 
French fleet at Aboukir, and Napoleon with his army was thus 
shut up in Egypt. 

He devoted himself to conquering the whole country, and set 
to work a staff of savants he had brought with him, who 
conquered as well the field of science, for which the world is 
more grateful than for the bloody, but less durable triumphs 
of war. Napoleon went into Palestine and laid siege to Acre ; 
but the English there resisted him successfully ; when he came 
back after a brilliant conquest of the Turks at Aboukir, he 
quietly disappeared from Egypt by himself, leaving the French 
army in the hands of General Kleber. 

" Poor Kleber ! '■' said Philip, as they were all reading and talking 



70 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

about these matters. " He had a hard time of it. And it was shameful 
of your Napoleon, papa, to leave him in the lurch." 

" I cannot say much in the defence 
of my Napoleon," replied Mr. Horner, 
" except that he doubtless was rest- 
less and impatient, and longed to be 
back in the thick of affairs in France." 

After he left Egypt, the cause of 
the French was lost there. Kleber 
listened to proposals of peace with the 
English ; but, not able 'to accept their 
terms, he roused the French soldiers 
again to battle. They won the day 
at first, and Kleber found himself 
the undisputed master of Egypt. 
Just then he was assassinated, while 
walking one day in his garden at 
Cairo. Not long after followed the 
battle of Alexandria, in which Menon, 
the successor of Kleber, was signally 
defeated. , Thus ended the triumphs 
of the French in Egypt. 

The battle-field retains more traces 
of the ancient battle than of the 
modern one, in the shape of Roman 
remains, upon which are some inscrip- 
tions dedicated to Caesar. 

" I suppose," said Mr. Horner, as 
they drove back to their hotel, " many 
people still believe that had the 
French retained their control of Egypt, 
their rule would have been a good 
thing for the country. See how 
much they did for science, even in that little time. England has 
not done much for Egypt. She behaves like a dog with a bone 




KLEBER. 



ALEXANDRIA. 71 

that he docs not much want himself, but will not leave for any 
other dog." 

"O papa!" exclaimed Mary, "you are too prejudiced for your 
Napoleon." 

Their brief stay in .Alexandria had been very pleasant, although 
Mr. Stuyvesantj the American Consul, and every one they met, 
assured them that this was but the threshold of the East which 
they would only really begin to enjoy at Cairo. 

"The climate is the thing at Cairo," they all said. "There, you 
will never see a cloud. Blue sky, perfect dry weather, all the time." 

So the next morning, when they saw a cloudy sky as they drove 
to the station, they concluded it to be Alexandria weather ; but as 
they went on, it grew more lowering, and when they reached Cairo, 
it was pouring hard. 



72 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER VII. 



AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 

IN spite of the cloudy 
weather, it was a very 
jolly party which started for 
Cairo that morning. The 
cars were English carriages; 
and, although shabby, just 
like those they were used to 
on the Continent ; but it was 
very funny to have Arabs 
for all the employes. How- 
ever they might be dressed 
to resemble English officials, 
and although they spoke, 
for the most part, English, 
their brown skins seemed not 
to belong in their clothes, 
any more than the for- 
eign tongue in their mouths. The Homers had begun now to 
become accustomed to seeing civilized Egyptians, as they might 
be called, dark in complexion, but well educated, often speaking 
four or five languages fluently. The higher class are all dressed 
like Europeans ; the only noticeable thing is their fondness for a 
red fez, which they wear constantly on their heads, and pretend 
even to think a sufficient protection from the blazing sun of the 
African sands. Some of these cultivated gentlemen are Syrians, 
some born in Egypt. Bessie found that a real bey of the present 




A MODERN BEY. 



AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE 



time, was very different from her ideas of Lastern potentates derived 
from the Arabian Xig/its. The expression " Levantine " includes a 
great variety of nationalities ; anybody of Greek, Italian or Turkish 
blood, is Levantine, the word Levant including all the countries 
which border upon the Mediterranean. 

Leaving Cairo, the train passed near the Mahmoudcah Canal, 
which they had seen 
the day before, and 
they caught another 
glimpse of the pretty 
villas surrounded by 
their gay gardens. 
Then came a long, 
flat, cultivated plain. 
Occasionally they stop- 
ped at towns contain- 
ing a few respectable 
houses, but more 
shapeless huts of 
crude mud-bricks, such 
as compose the Arab 
villages ; the train 
passed by the grace- 
ful outlines of min- 
arets and cupolas be- 
longing to Moslem 
cemeteries, very pict- 
uresque when nestled 
in a group of palm 
trees, and fields of 
cotton, on which some 
blossoms were to be 
seen. 




BESSIE s IDEA OF A BEY. 



What is that yellow flower, I wonder?" said Bessie. 

Don't, pray, say you do not know that ! " exclaimed her father. 



^4 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



"That is the cotton-plant. The Egyptians will think you are only 
a make-believe American, if you do not know cotton ; for their 
chief idea of our country is as a cotton-growing one." 

"They cannot suppose," replied Bessie, "that there are cotton- 
plantations in New York ! " 

"But do not you remember, Bessie," said Philip, "that in 

Eisenach they kept 
y / , asking us about buf- 

i \ A :., jr - , .... faloes and Modocs ? " 

' r ^ "I have seen cotton- 

l pods before, but not 

, ';■ ' *^^^^RSt^-- tne blossoms," said 

Bessie. 
^ At the stations, 
i groups of Arabs gath- 
ered about the plat- 
form to stare at the 
train, much as the 
natives of Portsmouth 
and Pawtucket do in 
America ; but without 
that attention to toi- 
lette paid by young 
Yankee ladies who 
come to meet the cars 
with intent to charm 
by their appearance. 
The long-limbed Arab 
is sometimes well- 
formed, and his baggy, slouchy blue shirt is becoming to his lithe 
limbs. Mary longed for her paint-box, which was still shut up in 
her sea-trunk, to make studies of them as they stood about, lean- 
ing against any thing and every thing. 

"I hope," said Philip, "you have plenty of brown madder, to 
do their complexions with." 




COTTON PLANT. 



AN old ACQUAINTANCE. 



75 



Some of the natives were of a very different type, however. 

Half way to Cairo, they lunched, having taken only coffee before 
their early start, from an ample basket put up at the hotel, 
Hungry Arabs watched their repast, and accepted the remains 
readily. These poor fellows took the claret bottle, which had a 
little left in it when it was handed them, poured away the wine, 
and tenderly put the empty bottle by as a treasure. The Moslem 
law forbids the drinking of wine, and it is faithfully obeyed by the 
lower classes. These Arabs evidently valued the glass of the bottle 
more than its contents. 

" There are some more 
of those horrid dogs," 
said Bessie, looking at a 
a lean and hungry set 
who came sniffing about 
with pointed noses and 
wolfish mouths. These 
dogs live in the dirty 
streets, and feed upon 
any thing they find. 
The Moslems consider 
them " unclean," but do 
not kill them, from a 
superstition against de- 
stroying life ; so they 
increase to such num- 
bers as to be a public 
nuisance. 

At Benha, where the 
train stopped for sev- 
eral minutes, they all 

left the carriage and walked up and down the platform. Mary and 
Bessie, who were with Philip, were surprised to see him spring 
forward and grasp by the hand an elderly, foreign-looking gentle- 
man, rather short, with a beaming expression. 




A DIFFERENT TYPE. 



76 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

" Professor Lessli ! Have you forgotten me, sir ? " cried Philip. 

" Ha ! no ! what it is ! no, yes, let me think ; it shall be that 
nice little American ; and where shall be your charming friend 
Miss — Miss — " Thus spoke the Professor, in his fluent, but irregular 
English, turning to the girls, as if he expected to see an old friend. 

" These are my sisters, sir; Miss Lejeune, I am sorry to say, 
is not with us." 

"Ah, yes, Miss Lejeune," said the old gentleman, evidently 
thankful to get hold of a name, though he had recognized the face 
of Philip at once. It was the pleasant German professor who was 
at the Rhone glacier with his wife, when Philip and Miss Lejeune 
visited it the year before. He was very cordial, evidently remem- 
bered the occasion, 
greeted the young la- 
dies affably, and want- 
ed to bring them to 
the carriage where 
Mrs. von Lessli was 
seated, but the train 
was about to start, 
and they all had to 
run to their places, 
promising each other 
to meet at Cairo. 

"Papa," said Philip, 
" that is the dear old 
German that told us 
so much about gla- 
ciers. Would it not 
be splendid if, he were 
going up the Nile at the same time ? He would know so much, that 
the rest of us would not have to know any thing." 

"You must introduce me to him. We will find him again," 
said Mr. Horner ; and they looked forward with pleasure to improv- 
ing this acquaintance. 




DISTANT VIEW OF CAIRO. 



AN OLD ACQUAINTANCE. 77 

The rain now came on in earnest, and before they reached Cairo, 
was streaming down like a regular northeaster at home. As the 
train rolled into the station it crossed, as it were, seas of mud, for 
the old streets of Cairo are not calculated for such inundations, and 
asphalt is little known except in the new quarter. 

On the way from Alexandria, Philip and his sisters had had a 
little consultation about the Stuyvesant boys, who were at Cairo 
with their mother, and were to belong to the Nile party. 

" I don't remember any thing about them," said Bessie softly. 
" We did not see them in Paris." 

Mary replied, " I think their names were mentioned ; probably 
thcy were at school." 

•' The\' were," said Phil, " I know. Tommy knows their names. 
I am not sure that he did not go to see them at the school* once 
with Mr. Stuyvesant." 

" Oh, he did ! " exclaimed Bessie. " I forgot ; but Tommy told 
us about them. He said they were absckeulick." 

" I do not doubt they are," said Philip severely. 

"Philip!" said his father, looking at him over the top of his 
newspaper from his corner of the carriage. His glance was reprov- 
ing, but a sort of smile lurked about the corners of his mouth. 
The children had been talking in German, which they often used 
for their private conversations, for the sake of the practise, they 
said. Mr. Stuyvesant understood no German, and besides, he was 
comfortably asleep in his corner. 

When they alighted in the station at Cairo, the time was come 
for the young Stuyvesants to be revealed to them ; for there they 
stood, — two boys of about Tommy's age, but small and slight in 
figure. They were with Hassan, the dragoman already engaged to 
take charge of the party up the Nile. 

" There's papa!" they shrieked, and broke from their keeper to 
run up to him, seizing him one by each hand, and both talking 
at once. 

"Here we are, papa ! and the carriage is outside. Is it not immense, 
the rain ! Hassan says he never saw it rain before in Cairo. It's 



78 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

splendid to see the Arabs all stuck in the mud ? Come out, quick ! " 

"Stop, Ernest! stop, Augustine!" called their father, for they 
were darting off again. " You have not spoken to Mr. Horner. 
And here are Mary and Bessie, and — " Philip, he would have 
added, but Philip had slipped off to speak to Professor von Lessli, 
who was helping his wife from their carriage. 

Now followed a confusion of introductions and interchanging of 
plans. It proved that all were going to Shepheard's Hotel ; also 
that Hassan had brought two carriages ; thus the Lesslis were 
urged to join our party, which was, with this addition, soon disposed 
of, the boys scrambling up on the first carriage, without waiting to 
see what happened to the rest, by the side of the driver. Philip more 
gallantly busied himself with the packages of Madame Lessli. As 
he stood on the sidewalk waiting for his turn, his father said to 
him in a low voice : 

" Do not make up your mind too soon, Philip, about these boys. 
You know they must be your companions for the next three months 
at least, and you will have to take the brunt of them." 

Philip made an impatient movement of displeasure at the thought. 

"Remember what aunt Gus would say," said Mr. Horner. "Make 
the best of people whom you meet, and if* you do not like them, 
smile at their follies, and turn their mistakes to advantage by learn- 
ing from them what to avoid." 

Philip half-smiled, but grumbled : 

" Aunt Gus would hate these boys ! " 

Mr. Horner, however, added, in the serious manner he occasionally 
used to make an impression : 

" Try to set them the example of being always yourself polite 
and obliging ; but do not, especially at first, make them your 
enemies by holding off from them." 

Philip saw the justice of this advice, and with a sudden change 
of mind which often came over him, he ran after the first carriage 
and called out : 

"Halloo, there! make room for me!" and climbed up beside 
the boys and the driver. 



(•HAM) CAIRO. 



7«J 



THE rain ceased 
rain that was 
ter. For a few days 



CHAPTER VIII. 

GRAND CAIRO. 

during- the night, and that was the last 
heard of in Cairo during the win- 
the roads were deep with mud, 
and the car- 
riage-wheels 
sank into it 
up to their 
hubs, so that 
the native 
drivers looked 
like ship- 
wrecked mar- 
iners striving 
to rescue their 
sinking crafts. 
The warm sun 
soon dried 
all, however, 
and the cli- 
mate resumed 
its usual equ- 
able charac- 
ter. The 
Homers con- 
cluded that 
the little 
burst of 




STKEET IN CAIRO. 



80 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

good New England weather must have been for their benefit only. 

When Mary and Bessie awoke the first morning, it was clear 
and warm. Their window overlooked a sort of garden with tall, 
tufted palm trees in it, upon which were hanging glowing bunches 
of ripe dates. Through the trees rose the minarets of a distant 
mosque, and nearer at hand they saw an Eastern woman, veiled, 
walking upon a roof, in the midst of a cloud of pigeons. They 
looked around them first, then at each other, and broke into joyful 
laughter. 

" This is really Africa!" exclaimed one of them. 




A DELIGHTFUL DONKEY. 



They dressed themselves in all haste, impatient to begin their 
Oriental explorations. They found Philip below. A delightful donkey 
stood before the door. Others were near at hand ; and after coffee 
and rolls, the three were mounted and off, trotting gaily along on 
their cheerful little beasts, without much caring where they went, 
only to " see sights," leaving word with the hotel people that they 
should be back in time for lunch. 

They were gone four hours, and then came trotting up to the 



<;kani> caiko. 



81 




hotel door again in fine spirits, the bells on their donkeys making 
a merry jingle, and their faces all aglow. 

"Children, where have you been?" exclaimed Mrs. Stuyvesant. 
u I have been trying to per- 
suade your father you were 
lost ; but he will take it so 
easy ! " 

Miss Emily, in irreproachable 
toilet, came out and surveyed 
them. They had all met the 
evening before, and exchanged 
greetings and rejoicings. 

" Were you not afraid of being 
thrown?" she asked. 

f * Oh no ! we have had a 
splendid time," they all cried. 

Bessie added, " My donkey 
is a perfect angel. I shall never 
part with him." 

The brown donkey-boy who 
had run behind her all the way, showed a row of white teeth and 
said cheerfully: 

"Melican donkey! welly good donkey! He like Melican lady." 

The three could not give a clear account of where they had 
been, but every thing they had seen was delightful. High and narrow 
houses, with the upper stories projecting, and, from these, windows 
of delicate lattice-work of old brown wood, like big bird-cages. The 
streets were roofed in overhead with long rafters and pieces of 
matting, through which strayed dusty sunbeams. The narrow, 
crooked, unpaved, muddy streets were lined with little wooden shop- 
fronts, like fire-places, where merchants sat cross-legged in the 
midst of their goods, silently smoking, and looking out on the 
crowd passing by, — a noisy stream of people, half-European, half- 
Oriental, on foot or in carriages. They had seen Syrian dragomans, 
in baggy trousers and braided jackets ; bare-footed Egyptian fcllaJiin, 



MT?S. STUYVESANT. 



82 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

in ragged blue shirts and felt skull-caps ; Bedouins, in flowing gar- 
ments of dirty white, with wide chocolate-colored stripes, and kufias 
of the same bound about their heads, with a band of twisted camel's 
hair ; native women with black veils and nose-pieces, which cover 
all the face but their gleaming eyes; beggars, water-carriers, camels 
and donkeys. 

"We got in such a jam, papa," said Bessie, "where we were 

all mixed up ! It was the fault of an old 
camel that would go slow and prevent 
the carriages from moving on ; and all the 
time my feet were in the saddle-bags of 
another donkey that was carrying string- 
beans." 

At dinner the full combined party of 
Stuyvesants and Homers met, and were 
joined by Professor and Madame von Lessli, 
who had not appeared the evening be- 
fore. It was a miscellaneous crowd that 
filled the great dining-room of Shepheard's Hotel. The Hom- 
ers looked along the lines of the tables, and wondered if all 
these people could, like themselves, be going up the Nile. Some 
of them would, but many others were visitors established for the 
winter in Cairo. Some were passengers to India, who preferred this 
route to the Canal. German and French could be heard at intervals, 
but English was most spoken. There was a large party of Cook's 
Tourists, who were to start the next day up the river, in one of 
the regular steamers. 

Mr. Horner, during the absence of the children, had been to see 
the dahabieh, which was already selected for their trip ; it was a 
great thing that all this trouble was spared to him by Mr. Stuy- 
vesant, who had taken upon himself the whole arrangement, with 
the understanding that each should pay his share. The first thing 
was to engage a dragoman, and this is generally troublesome, from 
the risk of getting a bad one ; for on the excellence of the drag- 
oman, depends all the comfort of the trip. In this Mr. Stuyvesant 




IN THE STREET. 



GRAND CAIRO. 88 

had no difficult)-, however, for Hassan was well-known to him 
beforehand, through the warm recommendation of sonic friends with 
whom he had been up the river the year before. In fact, Mr. 
Stuyvesant's chief reason for going at this time was, that he could 
have Hassan and the delightful dahabieh the Bent-Anat, both of which 
had been rapturously praised by the returning party. 

The dragoman is a kind of manager, who, for a certain sum of 
money, — and it is a large one, — takes the charge of the whole 
party. After he is installed, no one else has any care or worry 
about the sailors, the food, or the servants. He serves as interpreter 
on all occasions, between the travellers and the rei's, or native 
captain. To be sure, there is not much occasion for conversation, 
but the dragoman maintains friendly relations. He does every thing, 
in short. 

This it is that makes the Nile trip so delightful, that it is so free 
from responsibility. The host is a guest on board his own boat. 
He is served, as it were, with invisible hands. He gives no orders, 
and yet every one obeys his behest. 

Of course, if you do not love your dragoman, you hate him ; 
and there are fussy travellers, with an insatiate love of managing, 
who do not get along well, even with good ones. The best way 
is, having secured a thoroughly excellent man, to repose perfect 
confidence in him, and let him work his own sweet will. 

Hassan was a " perfect love," in Bessie's estimation, and they all 
became so proud of him that they longed to import him and 
have him in New York, "to keep house and conduct the business 
of the Horner firm. 

He was brown and smiling, and wore a turban. His every-day 
suit was a loose jacket and waistcoat, with baggy trousers, all of 
yellowish brown ; but his Sunday clothes, if the expression applies 
to a Mussulman, were of gorgeous blue, embroidered, with some gold 
about them, and a bright sash about his waist. He could talk in 
every known language, changing rapidly from one to another, as, 
after scolding a donkey-boy in Arabic, in tones that sounded like 
" Warragy-warragy-la-la-beswech," he would turn quickly, and add: "All 



b-i A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

right, Miss Bessie; him donkey not any more fall down," in the 
best of broken English, 

Hassan had made countless trips, with different parties, up and 
down the Nile, one or two of which were in the beautiful Bent-Anat, 
and he loved her like his bride. He showed the gentlemen all 
over the boat with pride, and he eloquently pointed out its advan- 
tages over every other one then afloat. 

To begin with, it was large. Like all dahabiehs, it was shallow, 
and flat-bottomed, with a tall mast forward, upon which hung the 
huge lateen sail The cabins were built upon the after part of the 
vessel, and the roof of the cabins formed a raised deck, which was 
a sort of open-air parlor, with divans and tables, covered with an 
awning when necessary. It was here they were to chiefly pass 
the time. This upper deck was reached from the lower deck by 
two little flights of steps, and belonged exclusively to the passen- 
gers, the lower deck to the crew ; the kitchen forward, was 
nothing more than a small shed, from which came wonderful, 
elaborate dinners that might have been cooked in a Yankee estab- 
lishment with all the ' modern improvements. 

Below the deck, in the after part, came first a narrow passage, 
with two little cabins or staterooms on each side ; then a wide 
and pleasant saloon, with cushioned divans, a gay carpet, looking- 
glasses, and even a piano ; behind this was another passage with 
more cabins and a bath-room, and in the stern another semi-circular 
little saloon, lighted by eight windows and surrounded by a divan. 
Under all these divans were deep drawers to hold clothes, books, 
etc. ; in fact, it was quite wonderful how much storing room 
there was. 

Thus there was ample room for eight or nine passengers, for 
two of the cabins were double. Mr. Horner thought Mary and 
Bessie would like to be together, and the group of cabins in the 
stern was therefore surrendered to the ladies, while Mr. Stuyvesant 
could keep guard over his boys in the double cabin next his, 
amidships, leaving the other two opposite for Mr. Horner and 
Philip. It is necessary to have the party nicely settled in their 



(i RANI) CAIKO. gg 

narrow lodgings before they start, in order that their disposition in 
their happy home for the coming weeks may be clearly kept in mind. 
. " ] have been thinking," said Mr. Stuyvesant, as they were 
driving back from Boulak, " that it would be admirable if we could 
manage room enough to invite the Professor and his wife to join us." 

"The very same thing 1 was thinking!" said Mr. Horner. "They 
have no definite plan ; it is a pity they should go on the steamer, 
I am told one loses so much." . 

"Lessli's knowledge would be invaluable to us," said Mr. Stuy- 
vesant ; " but it rather crowds the party, unless they could be com- 
fortable in the round cabin at the stern ; what do you think ? " 

"There could be no harm in asking them, unless you think your 
wife would like that place as a sort of overflowing room," said Mr. 
Horner. 

"She can over flow into the saloon," he replied. 




COLOSSAL STATUE OF RAMESES THE GREAT. 



86 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE PYRAMID OF KHUFU. 

HASSAN and Mr. Stuyvesant had done such good 
work in preparation, that by the time the Homers 
arrived in Cairo, every thing was really ready for the 
start up the river ; and the first-comers, having seen all 
they cared to of the city, were impatient to be off. 
To be sure they had made no excursions to look at 
the wonders of Cairo, but all these were postponed, according to 
their programme, until the return from the Nile trip. Mrs. Stuy- 
vesant and her daughter had been busy chiefly in their rooms, trim- 
ming hats with white muslin, and making other little preparations 
for the voyage. 

Our young Homers, much as they desired to start off on the 
dahabieh, were so enchanted with Cairo that they could not bear to 
leave it so soon, even with the prospect of seeing it all later ; so 
when they learned that things would not be ready on board the 
Bent-Anat until the afternoon of their second day in Cairo, they 
begged to be allowed to go to the pyramids in the morning. 

"It takes only five or six hours, papa," said Bessie; "and we will 
get up very early in the morning, and be off and back before you can 
say Jack Robinson." 

" I shall be employed otherwise than saying Jack Robinson, my 
dear," replied her father, "for I have a busy morning before me. 
We still need a good many things to take with us, that I am to 
buy here." 

"Oh, yes, papa!" rejoined Mary; "Bessie and I have made a list 
of things we should like. Do you suppose we can buy gamboge in 




THE PYRAMID OF KHUFTJ. 87 
ro ? and Bessie's tooth-powder Tell out of the port-hole at Malta." 
'Why will you talk about tooth-powder," said Philip impatiently, 

"when we are trying to be off 
for the pyramids? Papa, I think 
we could do it without you. We 
can take a carriage, and we only 
want to just look at them, and 
not go to the top or inside, this 
time." 

Mr. Horner hesitated, for Has- 
san would be too busy to go with 
them ; but Hassan, who was stand- 
ing by during this talk, said he 
could send his excellent friend Hag- 
gi with them. " Him show pyra- 
mid berry well ; him good guide," 
he added. 

Long before the discussion had 
reached this point, it was accom- 
panied by a duet from the two 
boys, Augustine and Ernest, of 
" Let me go ! " " Let us go ! " 

Mr. Stuyvesant approved it by 
adding, "Let them go!" and so 
the plan was settled, with the strict 
agreement that they should go and 
return with as little delay as pos- 
sible, in order to be ready to leave 
the hotel for the point of depar- 
ture, Boulak, at two o'clock. The 
carriage and Ha^gi were ordered 
to be at the door at six, which 
.gave ample time for the expedition, 
youth and activity were to accomplish the remainder, 
o they set forth at six in the morning, after their coffee, in 




HAGGI. 



88 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

the best of spirits, Emily Stuyvesant and Mary Horner on the back 
seat of the carriage, Bessie and Phil on the other, the two boys on 
the box with Haggi and the driver. How those boys managed 
to sandwich themselves into such close quarters, cannot be explained; 
but as they always chose to go on the box, and absolutely refused 
to stay elsewhere, driver and dragoman had to submit. 

It was simply madness to undertake this expedition in so hasty a 
way, as Philip Horner was afterwards forced to admit. It was a 
lesson to him which was useful during the rest of the Egyptian 
journey. He had become so confident of his knowledge of travel- 
ling as to think himself equal to any occasion ; but he now learned 
that the charge of a mixed party in an uncivilized land, was too 
much for him to attempt. 

All began well, however. The day was fine, the horses were 




ON THE ROAD. 



fresh, and they drove gayly along the broad road to Boulak, amused 
at watching the strange figures they passed. There is now an ex- 
cellent high road leading all the way to the pyramids, and a bridge 
over the Nile ; this supersedes the ferry at old Cairo, which was 
the former method of crossing. Philip and Bessie thought it must 



THE PYRAMID OF KHUFU. 



80 



have been more fun to cross in a ferry boat full of camels, and donkeys, 



and Arabs, such as they could see from the bridge on the river ; 
but the present route is more comfortable, and certainly saved 
thorn time, for in less than two hours 



each side is seven hundred and thirty- 
two feet ; its height is four hundred and eighty feet ; but these 
figures seemed to mean nothing to those who were in the pres- 
ence of the mighty bulk, and could note the huge shadow it cast 
in the morning light across the stony platform of the desert and 
the green plain far beyond it. The pyramid, close to, is so immense 
that it shuts out the sky and the horizon ; it shuts out all the 
other pyramids, every thing, in short, but awe and wonder. In spite 
of all the pictures they had seen, and descriptions they had read, 
the Horners viewed it with a sense of surprise. They could not 
have imagined it would be so big, so real, and so interesting. 

A crowd of Arabs flocked around them, and beseiged . them with 
demands for "backsheesh," a word they were likely to become very 
familiar with in the course of their winter ; but Haggi drove them 
off, though it was difficult to make them understand that any- 
body could come merely to look at the pyramid, and go back 
again. Philip and Bessie soon proposed starting to walk over to 
the Sphinx ; but Mary preferred to get a distant sketch of it, as 
she could see it when sitting in the shadow of the pyramid. 



they were standing at the foot of the 
great pyramid . of Khufu. The little 
party stood in awe below this immense 
structure of antiquity, and strove to real- 
ize its duration of six or seven thou- 
sand years ; for the great pyramid is 
supposed to have been over four thou- 
sand years old at the time of the birth 
of Christ. All these years has it been 
there, while many a century and dynasty 
have had their clay. Next to its age, its 
size is most impressive. The length of 




TO BOULAK. 



90 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

Emily had brought a novel with her, in which she was deeply inter- 
ested; and she decided to remain with Mary, under Haggi's pro- 
tection ; but, — where were the boys ? The question came up now 
for the first time ; they had all been so absorbed in wonder that 
they did not miss them. Nowhere could they be seen! Haggi did 
not know, the driver did not know, what had become of them. 
Haggi immediately began describing them, and asking for them of 
the Sheik of the, pyramids, an Arab, under whose control are the 

fleet guides who 
help people up to 
the top, and so 
learned with al- 
most absolute cer- 
tainty, that the 
two boys had been 
seen starting for 
the summit with 
a party which had 
lately set off. 

Impossible ! 
Philip was very an- 
gry, and could not 
believe it. Then 
he directed that 
some one should 
be sent after them. 

The impassive 
Arabs shook their 
heads, and let fall 
slow words which 
Haggi interpreted 
as "No use; too 
far gone ! " 

It was too provoking. The ascent and return would take at 
least two hours, and beside that, without knowing the people who 




ASCENT OF THE PYRAMIDS. 



THE PYRAMID OF KHUFU. K 

had gone up, it was impossible to imagine into what hands the 
boys had fallen. Philip was at a loss what to do; at first he 
thought he would take a couple of Arabs and follow them ; but 
he did not like to leave the girls with only Haggi, whom they 
did not know, and did not like half so well as Hassan. The 
worst was, that the delay would worry all at the hotel, and per- 
haps even prevent their getting off at all that day on the river. 
Philip was irritated by the coolness of Emily, who, seating herself 
with her novel, said : 

"You take it much too hard, really; they are sure to turn up 
all right; the only thing for us to do is to wait." 

"But papa will be so anxious," cried Philip, and he raged up 
and down impatiently; "and your father, too. They won't know 
it is only the boys, and they'll 
.think" — 

He stopped ; he was really 
almost ready to cry. Mary felt 
badly, but she was putting in 
her first wash ; she could not 
help being absorbed in the 
quantity of yellow ochre it 
required. But Bessie said: 

" See here, Phil ! I will take 
a donkey and ride directly back 
to Shepheard's, and' tell them 
what has happened." 

"Oh no!" he replied impa- 
tiently. •" You can't do that 
alone. You will be lost, too, 
and papa will say it is all my 
fault." 

Phil, in fact, had lost his temper, which is never wise on those 
occasions, if ever. 

" See those people ! " said Bessie, turning towards a carriage 
into which were just stepping two ladies and a gentleman. With- 




• BELOW THE GREAT PYRAMID. 



94 * A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

out finishing her thought, she ran up to them on the impulse of 
the moment. Philip followed more slowly, trying to get better com- 
mand of himself. He found Bessie explaining and apologizing, and 
the ladies sympathizing and anticipating her wish to be allowed 
to ride back to Cairo with them. They most cordially offered her 
a seat in their carriage, where there was one to spare, and in a 
very short space of time, the brave Bessie was whirled off at a 
rapid pace away from her friends, with three entire strangers. 

Philip felt ashamed at Bessie's superior control of the occasion, 
and now endeavored to be philosophical, and await in patience the 
return of Ernest and Augustine. He tried to fix his attention 
upon the descriptions of the pyramids in Murray, and the account 
of their history ; but nothing could prevent the time from seeming 
endless, until, with a good deal of noise and shouting, the party 




PORTRAIT OF KHUFU. 



descending was seen to return. It was a miscellaneous collection 
of young Englishmen, French, Germans, and one or two ladies, in 
the midst of which appeared the boys, dusty and dishevelled. 
Ernest had scraped his knee and torn his trousers ; Augustine 
arrived in the firm clutch of two Arabs, who appeared to have 



TTTK PYRAMID OF KHUFU. 98 

no intention of letting him go. A huge backsheesh had to be 
paid for their excursion, as no bargain had been made beforehand 
with the extortionate guides. The boys were hot, cross, and crest- 
fallen ; aware that they had committed an indiscretion, at the least, 
they climbed to the box of the carriage without a word. 

Emily attempted some words of reproach, but Philip said rather 
sternly : 

" Leave all that to your father," and thus silenced her ; they drove 
rapidly back to Cairo without much conversation. It was after three 
o'clock when they reached the door of the hotel, where the carriages 
to take them to their Nile boat were already standing, packed with 
such hand luggage as had been left to the last. 




IN THE STREETS OF CAIRCo 



90 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER X. 

AFLOAT. 

MEANTIME, some two hours before, to the amazement of 
everybody, Bessie came driving up to the door of Shep- 
heard's in a carriage full of people unknown to any of her party. 
She jumped out, and, running up to her father, who was standing 
near, hastily explained the situation ; then, after both had cordially 
thanked her new friends for their kindness, they went to their 
own rooms, where Mrs. Stuyvesant, who had watched her arrival 
from the window, was waiting with curiosity. 

Bessie told her ' story. Mr. Horner looked annoyed, but was 
silent. Mrs. Stuyvesant said : 

" Oh dear ! those boys are always up to some mischief. Their 
father will be very angry. They ought to have asked Philip's per- 
mission. I told them to do nothing except what they saw him 
do." 

" They ought to have known of themselves," said Bessie indig- 
nantly, " that there was no time to go up the pyramid, when we 
wanted to be off on the river by this time ! " 

"Well, well, we will not discuss that now," said her father; "the 
question is, what is to be done ? Mr. Stuyvesant and Hassan have 
already gone to Boulak, and we were to follow them at two 
o'clock. It must be nearly that now. I am afraid we must give 
up the start for to-day." 

Bessie was silent, but very sorry. The plan was to get off, if 
only to float a few miles up the river, to dine on board their 
boat, and enjoy the lovely new moon which was to enhance the 
sunset that evening. Mr. Stuyvesant had been studying an almanac 



AFLOAT. 97 

for days, in order to bring about this pretty beginning to the trip. 

" I think we may as well go and lunch, anyhow," suggested Mrs. 
Stuyvesant vaguely, "and have that off our minds." 

The idea seemed a good one, and Mr. Horner, quite at a loss 
how to proceed, went with her and Bessie to the long dining- 
room. Here they found again Mr. and Mrs. Ford, and Mrs. Ford's 
sister, with whom Bessie had 
just returned from the pyra- 
mids. 

" Well, how is it, Miss Horner," 
asked Mr. Ford cheerfully, 
'" shall we meet you on the 
river to-night ? " 

" I am afraid not," said Bessie 
sorrowfully ; and then she and 
her father, seeing the Fords' 
interest, stopped to tell them 
their difficulty. 

" If I can be of any further 
service, pray command me," said 
Mr. Ford. " We mean to start 
up the river this afternoon, and 
are going to leave the hotel directly after lunch. My boat lies 
near the Bent-Anat, I think, and I can carry a note or message 
to your friends, or your dragoman, to explain your delay." 

Bessie's eyes sparkled. Mr. Horner, a little stiffly replied, how- 
ever : 

" We have already taxed your kindness too much, and I cannot 
think of putting you to any further obligation." 

"Well, but, papa," put in Bessie, "I really think Mr. Ford would 
like to do it ! " 

All smiled. Formality was no longer possible. The Fords had 
already finished their lunch with cups of black coffee, which is 
delicious everywhere in Egypt. While they went to their rooms 
for last preparations, Mr. Horner wrote as follows : 




98 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



"Delayed by accidents. We shall come as soon as possible 
Have every thing ready for the start." 



perhaps in two hours. 



He handed this to their stupid-looking English valet, who carried 

it to his master. 

By the time Mrs. 
Stuyvesant had 
placidly finished her 
lunch, the kind Fords 
were off, Bessie and 
her father watching 
them as they drove 
away from the door. 
As they met Mrs. 
Stuyvesant leaving 
the dining-room as 
they returned to it, 
she said : 

"I think I will 
take a nap now, to 
prevent worrying till 
they come back, and 
then I shall be fresh 
this evening." 

Mrs. Stuyvesant 
was a nice, easy-going 
woman, whose placid 
disposition made her, 
in fact, a good travel- 
ling companion, but 
was rather irritating 
in moments like these. Nevertheless, to wait and not worry, 
was all there was to do. Bessie stationed herself where she 
could watch the road from Old Cairo, after she had first made 
sure that Mary's shawl-strap, as well as her own, was in perfect 
readiness. Luckily, they had packed and sent down all their lug- 




MR. FOBD'S VALET. 



AFLOAT. 



!)!> 



gage before starting for the pyramids. A few tilings lying round 
in Phil's room, she put in her own hand-bag, and then waited and 
watched. 

At last the gloomy pyramid party arrived. Philip jumped out 
of the carriage and glanced hastily at his father, to see how he 
was taking it. 

" Not a minute to be lost, my boy," said Mr. Horner cheerily. 
"Everything is ready, and they are waiting for us at Boulak." Mrs. 
Stuyvesant came down, fresh from her nap, and stepped into the 
carriage, from which Mary and Emily did not descend, while Bes- 
sie was hurried into the other one with her father and Philip. 

"Did you take our fishing-rods and things, mamma?" asked Ernest. 

" What things ? " demanded Mrs. Stuyvesant. " Oh dear ! could 
not you attend to your own things? And how you look, — all mud ! " 

There was another delay while the boys went up to their room 
and returned with a miscellaneous collection in their hands, of 
things they had been buying for the trip, which would not go into 
their trunk. By the time they were finally stowed into the car- 
riage, the other one, containing Mr. Horner, Bessie and Philip, was 
far in front, and the two children, alone with their father, were 
pouring out all manner of indignation against Ernest and Augustine. 
But Mr. Horner, who had not suffered himself to be greatly dis- 
turbed, had resumed his usual serenity as soon as he discovered 
that it was not too late to make the start. He laughed at Philip's 
account of it all, although Philip himself was ready to cry. He 
assured him that he saw no occasion for self-reproach, and praised 
Bessie for her promptness. 

"That's it," said Philip; "Bessie showed lots of sense, and I 
behaved like a fool." 

"I was afraid," said Mr. Horner, "that Bessie might have been 
a little too forward, which is what the English always think of 
Young Americans." 

" Oh, but, papa ! * exclaimed Bessie, " the Fords are not like all 
that sort of English. They are perfectly splendid ! " and she began 
to describe her charming new friends. 



100 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

"They are going up the Nile, — just the three of them, — in a sweet 
little dahabieh, the Syren. I saw it there at Boulak, and O, papa ! 
I saw the Bent-Anat, you know." 

"So did I," said Philip, "and we might have stopped there if we 
had only known enough ; but I did not dare to." 

" Oh, it was much better to come on, to make sure of our not 
missing each other," replied his father. 

"And then besides, you know," said Bessie, "we should have 
left behind Ernest's fishing-rod." 

They laughed at this, but Philip's spirits were not gay. He 
longed in his heart for his mother or Miss Lejeune, with whom 
he might have found comfort and consolation; but he was sensible 
of the extreme kindness of his father, who carefully avoided any 
hint that he thought the affair had been mismanaged. 

After all, by four o'clock they had arrived on board the Bcnt- 

Anat, and were swarm- 
ing all over the boat 
to make acquaintance 
with their new home. 
Nothing but exclama- 
tions of delight were 
heard. The p i a n o 
stood open in the 
saloon ; a few flowers 
had been placed on 
the table by thought- 
ful Hassan ; the little 
cabin looked cosey, 
and even roomy, to 
their willing eyes. 
All was ready; the 
reis stood at the head of the steps, the steersman was at the 
helm. The mooring ropes were loosened; the sailors poled the boat 
off from the bank, and away they went, the huge sail filling as 
it took the wind. 




BOATS AT BOULAK. 



AFLOAT. jOl 

It was a brilliant afternoon, with a fair wind. The Iniit-Anat 
cut swiftly and steadily through the water. Palaces and gardens 
were left behind ; the minarets of Cairo disappeared from sight. 
The pyramids stood up sharp and 
clear. 

It is believed that Ernest and 
Augustine looked at them with 
a shudder. 

After an early dinner, much 
needed by most of the party, they 
all assembled on the open upper deck, which was furnished with 
divans, tables, and rugs, and enjoyed the prospect at their • ease, — 
the gentlemen smoking, the others seeking comfortable attitudes, — 
gliding by long belts of palm groves, lines of fresh green, and clusters 
of mud huts near at hand, while the horizon was bounded by 
long ranges of yellowish mountains with delicious shadows of violet. 

Then the sun went down, and left for awdiile the little crescent 
moon. A distant camel stood out black against a golden sky. When 
it was quite dusk, and the stars were out, they moored for the 
night, tied up to the bank at a little village. Such was their first 
evening on the Nile. 




102 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER XL 

MORE ABOUT PYRAMIDS. 

ALL the party on board the Bent-Anat slept soundly through 
that first night on the Nile. Their little cabins were cosey, 
the little beds were comfortable, and the stillness was stiller than 
any they had ever known. The excursionists to the pyramid, 
especially, slept well ; and Mary and Bessie, though they shared a 
double state-room, too tired to discuss the events of the day, went 
to sleep without exchanging a word. On the Nile, the boats sail 
but seldom after dark, but are tied up, like a horse or cow, to a 
post by the bank of the river. If there is no reason for lingering 
at the stopping place through the day, an early start is made ; and 
thus the morning after they embarked, at dawn, the Homers woke 




NILE SCENERY. 



to find themselves in motion, and those who were enough aroused 
to look out, saw. the strange scenery on the shore close to them, 



MORE ABOUT PYRAMIDS. 



108 



gliding backward as they moved on. Soon they all became so 
accustomed to this, that the starting of the boat did not in the 
least disturb their slumbers, though Bessie, always an early bird, 
was often up soon after, and sipping her coffee on deck, which 
Antonio the Maltese steward who talked nothing but Italian, brought 



her. On this first mornim 



It 1! 



probable that all were awake, 



and wondering to find themselves in so novel a situation. 

"Let us get up," said Bessie to Mary. "I have such lots to 
talk about, and people will hear us." 

"Oh, do you think we had better?" murmured sleepy Mary. 
"It's very nice here!" and she settled her head into the pillow. 
Hut not long after, for once, she yielded to Bessie's example, and 
they were soon on deck, delighted with themselves and their energy. 
How pretty it was! how fresh and bright the boat looked, and how 
lovely was the morn- _ 
ing scene! The 
Arab town they had 
left was already dis- 
appearing in the dis- 
tance, but they could 
still see the clouds 
of pigeons hovering 
over their houses. 

Every Nile village 
has a sort of tower 
erected especially for 
the pigeons, w,hich 
breed in immense 
numbers, and swarm 
up into the sky when 
they are disturbed, 
like a cloud of gigantic mosquitoes. 

"Now, do tell me," said Mary, ''how it was settled about the 
Lesslis. Did not Mr. Stuyvesant invite them, after all ? " 

"Oh, yes," replied Bessie. "Papa told me that while we were 




N KA1! A TOWN. 



104 A FAMILY FLIGHT OYER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

waiting for you. It was all settled in the morning. They are 
delighted with the plan, only Professor von Lessli has so much to 
do in Cairo that he could not possibly leave so soon." 

"What a pity!" exclaimed Mary; "it would have been so nice 
to have them." 

"Well, but they are going to join us," replied Bessie. "It 
appears they can have four or five days perfectly well in Cairo, 
and come up by railroad and meet us at some place before we get 
to Beni Hassan, which the Professor says we must see, and which 
he wants to see most of all." 

" I should think," remarked Mary, " they might have to wait for 
us too long, or else that we should be there too soon, or some- 
thing." 

" He says that he could spend no end of time at Beni Hassan in 
perfect content," said Bessie. " I don't know whether he means to 
sleep in a tomb, but I guess it will turn out all right." 

The Nile voyage differs from all other voyages, in that it is 
constantly interrupted by excursions on shore to points of histori- 
cal interest. What might otherwise prove monotonous in the tran- 
quil life on board the dahabieh, is broken by frequent picnic parties 
of a whole day. With ordinary good luck about wind and weather, 
the division is fairly even between sailing and the shore. There is 
time to enjoy them both without being bored by either. Only 
when there is a long period of unfavorable winds or calm, does the 
life on the boat become tedious, for there is ever something to see 
or to anticipate, and besides, always plenty to do ; for books, and 
work, and healthful play have each its home on the dahabieh. 

It is the rule of the Nile to hurry up the river as fast as pos- 
sible, leaving the ruins to be seen as the boat comes back with the 
current ; and those who start late in the season must use haste in 
going up, or they would be stuck in the sand coming back, by the 
lowness of the water. But it is far the best plan to start as our 
party had done, — early enough to see, on the way up, those monu- 
ments which come first in respect to age, in order to follow the 
course of Egyptian history as it is handed down by Egyptian art. 



MOKE AliOUT PYRAMIDS. 105 

In this way it can be traced from the pyramid builders down to 
the Ca\sars, and even superficial tourists can understand, at the 
time and on the spot, the order of the ancient Egyptian dynasties. 

The Great Pyramid, therefore, really makes the best beginning, 
as this is the oldest of the Egyptian monuments, and consequently, 
of the history of man. Its builder, Cheops, as Herodotus called 
him, is now considered to have lived and reigned about three 
thousand years before the Christian era. Authorities differ upon any 
thing more precise, and at so great a distance from us, a little 
matter of a thousand years or so is but a trifle, just as in a 
view from a high mountain a hundred miles upon the horizon 
does not count for much. The hieroglyphic name of this king is 
Khufu, and is found in his pyramid thus written upon his car- 
touche or seal. The Homers had already discovered that these 
signs which appear engraved everywhere upon the stones of Egypt, 
are the signatures of the kings, written with letters made of little 
pictures or hieroglyphics. Since it has been discovered that these 
signs meant letters, and that a sort of alphabet could be formed 
of them, it has been first possible, and then easy, to read the 
history of this wonderful nation from the countless inscriptions on 
their walls. Much study and learning is required to thoroughly 
understand the hieroglyphic carvings ; but he who runs may read 
at a glance, after a time, the cartouches of the most important 
kings and their dynasties ; and the quick-eyed Bessie soon recog- 
nized the mark of Rameses the Great, as easily as she could the 
wig and high heels of Louis XIV. in the picture gallery of the 
Louvre. These seals serve as dates, evidently ; the cartouches of 
the oldest kings being found, of course,- only upon the very most 
ancient monuments. 

The ancient Egyptians attached the greatest importance to the 
preservation of the dead. They believed that the soul was to leave 
the body at death, and wander about for three thousand years, 
after which it would return to its old home, when the body and 
soul returned to each other, were to rise and live again. They 
therefore took every precaution to preserve the body intact, lest 



106 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



the soul should lose its home. Hence the care they took to 
embalm their mummies so thoroughly, that they are now often 
found for the first time brought to light. They also, as Khufu 
did, devoted a lifetime to the building of his own tomb; for this 
is the Great Pyramid. There is a little central chamber in the 
middle of it, with a long gallery leading to it, so cunningly 
arranged, as he thought, as to wholly prevent any attack upon 




HAMPER CONTAINING MUMMIED LEG OF MUTTON. 

the precious mummy. They thought the new body at the resur- 
rection would be hungry, and so they placed food, and vases 
holding wine, for their refreshment. Very lately in a tomb has 
been found a hamper containing the funereal repast of a queen, 
all mummified and bandaged, consisting of geese, legs of mutton, 
gazelle, etc. Changes of clothing 'are also found, and even a wig, 
to adorn the newly awakened body. It is very common to find 



MORE ABOUT PYRAMIDS. 



107 



with them little statuettes called Shabti, shaped in the form of 
mummies made of glazed porcelain. Their hands are crossed upon 
their breast, and hold a hoe, a sickle, and a bag full of seed. The 
deceased was supposed to have to hoe and reap when he reached 
the celestial fields, and these little figures, it was thought, might 
do the work for him. They are made of various materials, and 
were buried with the poorest as well as the richest. 

All these things are indications of the great importance the 
Egyptians attached to the preservation of the body. It is strange 
that they brought about a worldly immortality of which they 
thought not at all. Their labor and cunning has preserved for 
posterity the account of their lives, and very thoughts, so that now, 
many, many years after the dates they contemplated for the bodily 
resurrection, we can reconstruct their history, their habits, and their 
beliefs. 

Obscure and complicated though the research may appear, yet 
the study of the history of these old 
Egyptians is attractive to intelligent chil- 
dren; it abounds in pictures and symbols, 
and the images of animals. The race rep- 
resents, the childhood of the world. . It is 
we who should feel old in regarding it, 
yet we gain something of freshness and 
simplicity in studying the earnest, straight- 
forward expressions of their thought. 

Mary and Bessie were trying to get at 
some of this in the quiet of the morning, 
on the dahabieh, when the two boys, Er- 
nest and Augustine, made their appearance 
on deck. Very little had been seen of them since their arrival on 
board the Bent-Anat. The first dinner had passed without them, 
and it was inferred that they remained in their cabin and went 
early and dinnerless to bed. The Homers never inquired whether 
this was a form of punishment, or a case of fatigue after their 
unwise excursion to the top of the pyramid; in fact, they carefully 





ANCIENT ORNAMENTS. 



108 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



avoided the subject, and it was never again mentioned in public. 
They seemed now as fresh and boisterous as ever, and proceeded 
to test the solidity of the furniture on deck, by jumping from chair 
to table, and table to divan. 




ONE OF THE SAILORS. 



NIL E LIFE. 



L09 



CHAPTER XII. 

NILE LIFE. 

THUS two or three days passed, the pretty Bcut-Anat making no 
stop, except when tied up at night to her post. A good wind 
continued to blow for some days, but at sunrise, one morning, it 
fell just as the boat was ready to start, and when the party came 
on deck they found their slow, toilsome progress was because the 




TOWING THE DAHABIEH. 



men were "tracking." Seven of the brown Arab sailors pulling on 
a rope, like canal-horses, toiled along the bank, towing the great 



110 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



boat against the stream. It is at first shocking to American ideas 
to be thus propelled by human strength, and we never grow quite 
used to it ; but the powerful Arabs do not suffer from it, and 
accept the labor as a part of their fate, with Moslem imperturbability. 
The river was smooth as glass, without a ripple. On the bank 




SHADOOF. 



objects moved so slowly that Mary ran for her sketch-book, and 
blotted in one after another, different bits of the moving panorama. 
Palm groves and sandbanks succeeded each other ; native boats 
floating with the current, swept down the stream. They passed a 
shadoof, with a brown man working at it. It is the simplest kind 
of pump ; for really it is nothing but a long pump handle by which 
the man dips up buckets of water from the river, to pour it into, 
a trough, by which it runs backward to irrigate the fields. For the 
soil of Egypt is so sandy and barren, that it produces nothing except 
by being constantly watered. The wonderful system of Nature by 



NILE LIFE. in 

which it is yearly inundated by the Nile, makes its banks fertile, 
and the simple devices of the natives aid the work. 

Every year the water in the Nile begins to rise, that is, increases 
in volume, and from quite a shallow stream, after the end of June 
flows with a fuller and fuller current until the middle of October, 
when it begins to fall, reaching its lowest about the middle of May. 
The water, as it rushes along, is charged with mud which it deposits 
on the banks, leaving, as it falls, a strip of fertile soil, which is 
immediately planted. These strips, of course, grow wider and wider 
as the river-bed becomes narrower, until, in the spring, the glowing 
band of green stretches a mile or so away from the river. The 
plan for travelling on the Nile, is to sail up against the current, — 
the winds in autumn being usually favorable, — and to float down with 
it, reaching Cairo on the return, before the river is inconveniently 
low. The river varies in different years, and so does the shifting 
channel of its muddy bed. 

By and by up sprang a little breeze. The men dropped the rope 
and jumped on board, the big sail was set, and off went the 
Bent-Anat like a bird on wings. 

Nothing could be pleasanter than the life on the boat. Coffee 
in the morning as each one pleased ; at noon a substantial dejeuuer, 
or lunch, and dinner at the end of the day ; and as they found 
it hard to leave the lovely lights of approaching evening, dinner 
was often served on deck, the stillness of the air even allowing 
candles when the daylight left them. It was odd to have such 
short winter days, with such mild out-doors weather. 

Meanwhile the different members of the party were becoming 
more acquainted. Mrs. Stuyvesant, as we have said, was an excellent 
traveller, because such a serene one ; if she was not much moved 
to enthusiasm, neither was she greatly disturbed by discomforts. 
She enjoyed a good dinner, and fully appreciated the efforts of 
the accomplished cook. She appeared to the Homers so unlike 
their own mother, on account of her insipid relations with her 
own sons, who did what seemed right in their own eyes, without 
any deference to her wish or comfort, that at first they underrated 



112 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

her real sweetness of disposition ; but afterwards Philip, especially, 
devoted himself to her. As for the boys, thus far they appeared 
to be impracticable. Bessie formed a plan of taking them in hand 
and bringing them into subjection ; but they were like two eels 
slipping through her fingers. They took no interest whatever in 
any employment which would keep them still for a moment. If it 
were a book, their eyes were roving in every direction except the 
paper before them ; pictures decoyed them for a moment, but their 
charm was brief. Games were useless, for they had not patience 
enough to learn any. 

Having, therefore, soon exhausted the resources of the upper deck, 
they went to seek society at the other end of the boat, among the 
sailors ; and the rest of the party breathed freely for "awhile. But 
their tormentors were soon returned upon their hands, for they 
made so much trouble among the sheep and live stock on board, 
that a respectful request was brought by. Antonio, that they should 

not be allowed forward. Their 
reputation for mischief was 
only equalled by a cat be- 
longing to the rei's. This 
was for the first clay or two, 
after which several stern rep- 
rimands, and perhaps severe 
discipline, from their father, 
who finally exerted himself 
in this direction, brought 
Ernest and Augustine into some sort of subjection, or at least led 
them to the plan of keeping out of the way, — a course of con- 
duct welcomed by the others, — and thus peace was established on 
the Bent-Anat. , 

After several days of genuine dahabieh life, our travellers were 
told that there was a fair chance of reaching Minieh that evening. 
The wind had been favorable all day, but towards sunset it went 
down, as is quite usual, and it was nine o'clock before they ap- 
proached the town and were moored close under one of the palaces 




NILE LIKE. UB 

of the Khedive, the name by which the sovereign of Egypt is called. 

The next day instead of their peaceful voyage, the Homers had 
a lively excursion through the market-place of a little Arab town, 
squalid and dirty ; like Cairo in its Oriental character, but without 
any of its sparkle and richness. The Bazaar consisted of two or 
three lanes a little wider than the rest ; the market was held in 
a space of waste ground outside the town. The same cupboards for 
shops, the same gaudy stuffs, saddles, and rugs as they had seen 
in the Mouski, except that all here was shabby and dingy; the 
group of women, the donkeys, and camels, and dogs, and flies, were 
the same, and such a noise and jam that they could hardly hear 
each other's voices as they walked about under the guardianship 
of Hassan, which they would hardly have ventured to leave in the 
confusion of the crowd. 

The change to terra firma after the confinement on board the 
boat, was pleasant, and they passed the morning walking about. At 
Minieh they found the first Ddm palm they had seen, an odd, 
crooked kind of growth, as if an apple-tree should undertake to 
have palm-leaves, bearing big, brown, shiny nuts looking like dough- 
nuts and tasting for all the world like old gingerbread. 

At Minieh they were to meet the Professor and his wife, for 
by telegraph they had been able to keep them informed of the pro- 
gress of the dahabieh ; and the railroad requires less than a day 
for the distance, — over a hundred miles, — which it had taken them 
nearly a week to accomplish on the river. The train arrived early 
in the evening, and Mr. Horner and Hassan, who were awaiting it 
at the station, brought the guests in triumph to the boat. 

This new accession to the party brought great rejoicing. Madame 
von Lessli was introduced to her little apartment in the stern of the 
dahabieh, with which she was delighted, only expressing the fear 
that they were going to crowd the others. Protests from all soon 
re-assured her; they had found thus far the dimensions of their 
rooms ample for comfort. A very merry dinner celebrated the 
arrival, and the real Nile voyage was now first to begin. The next 
day they would undoubtedly reach Reni Hassan, and make their 



116 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

first expedition to see the monuments they had been talking so 
much about. 

After lunch, as they were sitting on deck with books and work, 
the little Ali came up to Bessie, and pointing forward up the river, 

said in a low tone, 

" See that white 
sail, Miss Bess, far, 
far off ? " 

"Which one, 
Ali ?" she asked. 

" Him by Dom 
Palem — there jest 
round corner. Him 
Syren" 

" The Syren ! the 
Syren!" exclaimed 
Bessie, springing to 
her feet. 

Ali was an intel- 
ligent Arab boy, very 
active and useful on 
all occasions. They 
were all in excite- 
ment at once. The bend in the river lost them the glimpse of the 
sail for a few moments, but soon it was visible again, and tak- 
ing turns at the powerful field-glass on board, which Philip rapidly 
adjusted, they could plainly see Bessie's friends, Mr. Ford, Mrs. 
Ford, and her sister, sitting placidly, like themselves, at work on 
the deck of their boat under the awning. Mr. Ford was evidently 
reading aloud. 

" Oh ! cannot we catch them, Hassan ? " cried Bessie. 
''Him stop Beni Hassan," replied the dragoman. "We tie up along 
side Syren?' 

And so they did. The Syren arrived a little before sunset, the 
Bent-Ancit an hour or two after. The passengers on board the first 




NJUSi LIFE. M7 

were all on deck watching the approach of the larger boat. Mutual 
salutes were fired, and every handkerchief was waved. 

"Cannot I go and speak to them right off?" asked Bessie. 

There was one little difficulty, that between the boat and the 
shore there was nothing but thick deep mud. One of the sailors, 
a stalwart Arab, at a sign from Hassan, seized Bessie around the 
knees, and, wading through the mud, deposited her on terra firma. 
A plank from the Syren was already in place, and Bessie was soon 
greeting her English friends, to whom she carried an invitation to 
dine on board the Bent-Anat> which was readily accepted. These 
interchanges of hospitality from boat to boat, make one of the most 
agreeable features of Nile traveL 



118 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



BENI-HASSAN. 




and 



HERE was commotion on shore around the 
two dahabiehs. Early in the morning donkeys 
donkey-boys began to arrive upon the 
scene, and while the two sets of travellers 
were taking coffee upon their decks, a crowd 
of miscellaneous ingredients assembled. The 
gabbling and shouting of the Arabs, the 
braying of the donkeys, and screams of children, 
made a tremendous din. It was a strange scene 
to watch ; but every one was hurrying to get ready 
for the start. The side-saddles from the boats were brought 
out and fastened on the donkeys for the ladies. Hassan had 
chosen the swiftest for Bessie, and a very docile one for Mrs. 
Stuyvesant. Ernest and Augustine were wild with joy, and each 
was in forty places at once. The Fords were going also to Beni- 
Hassan, so that the group made a formidable procession when 
mounted and ready, — the ladies on their little donkeys, white 
umbrellas up, and two or three attendants each ; little girls tagging 
along on foot, carrying water jars, and the whole village of Beni- 
Hassan assisting at the spectacle. 

" Hassan," said Mr. Stuyvesant, as he mounted his noble donkey, 
" I cannot have the whole village following us like this ; you must do 
something about it." 

u Why are not these boys at school?" said Mrs. Stuyvesant in a 
plaintive voice ; " but I suppose they have not any to go to." 

There are very good schools in Egypt, both native and foreign. 



BENI- HASSAN. 



121 



Those supported by the government were founded by Mohammed 
Ali. In the primary schools are taught 1 the reading and writing of 
Arabic, arithmetic, and French, and some other foreign languages. 
It would be hard to suppose, however, that the youths of the 
village of Beni-Hassan had any such advantages to exchange for 
the pleasure of following a cortege of tourists. 

Meanwhile Hassan turned upon the crowd, waved his staff and 
shouted out something that sounded very much like : 

" La ! la ! warragy-warragy rag-bag," with such vigor that they 
turned and fled, just as a flock of birds may be driven off a 
tempting heap of crumbs by the wave of a threatening hand. The 
crowd was diminished, but not demolished, for enough crept slyly back 
to make a respectable following in numbers, if disreputable in their 
uniforms of filth and rags. 

The grottoes of Beni-Hassan are excavated in the rock at the 
side of the hills that overhang the Nile; they 
are of very early date (3000 b. a), for they bear 
the name of Osirtasen I. of the eleventh dynasty, 
in whose reign they were begun. They are tun- 
nelled into the side of the hills, the roofs sup- 
ported by plain columns which are looked upon 
as the model from which the Doric column was 
The walls of these dark tombs are covered with 
colored drawings, the works of various ages, in which the traveller 
sees, by the light of the torch in his hand, the trades, games, and 
all the employments of life, painted as if on purpose to show to all 
the habits of this early people, and to teach the lesson that three 
or four thousand years make less change in manners than we fancy. 

These pictures on the walls de- 
lighted all, young and old. Even 
Ernest and Augustine were detained 
by them, and listened intently to 
the enthusiastic explanations of the 
learned Professor. No representa- 
tion of them in cuts can give any 



IF 



OSIItTASEN 




afterwards copied. 




§il_: 




PICTURED TOMIi AT BENI-HASSAN. 



122 A FAMILY FLIGHT. OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

idea of their charm, for the size is lost, and the color. The pro- 
file figures are for the most part of a dark-red color upon a light 
background; bright-blue, yellow, and green were freely used, and 
the effect is still very decorative, in spite of the long time these 
paintings have survived, and in spite of the idiocy of travellers, who 
seem to think that the more venerable the spot, the better adapted 
it is for writing their own names on, in foolish, defacing scrawls. 

Professor Lessli showed the rest that it used to be the custom of 
these simple artists to write over the top of an object the name of 
whatever they meant to depict; like, "this is an ox," "this is a 
tree," etc. Mary remarked that she feared the impressionist school 
of our time might have to adopt the same plan, to make their 
works understood. 

It was at Beni-Hassan that the young Homers first received an 
insight into the nature of hieroglyphics. For thousands of years, 

means of figures of 
men, animals, and 
other natural objects, 
had existed. The first 
great change in the 
art was to use these 
figures for the names 
of the objects, in- 
stead of the objects 
themselves, which 
gave them a power 
of representing a sound or spoken syllable. Then the carvers found 
that twenty or thirty of these sounds came into use much oftener 
than the rest, and thus they built up a sort of alphabet, of which 
each letter is a picture of some natural object. To spell words 
with letters which are pictures of things, seems to us a kind of 
punning; as for instance, cat-a-comb ; but it is nothing less than 
writing in hieroglyphics. That these pictorial letters with time 
should have turned into the simple characters which make the 
modern types of the printer, is a more scientific explanation 




BEN1-IIASSAN. m 

of the origin of the alphabet than their invention by Cadmus. 

The charm of Egyptian sight-seeing is its combination of learn- 
ing and leisure, of study and fun. With tired feet and puzzled 
brains, our party was rejoiced to be summoned to a shady part of 
the hillside, where, on the sand, a luxurious lunch had been spread 
by that part of their retinue whose business it was to attend to the 
wants of the flesh. Hassan was there to preside, and so was the 
Fords' dragoman ; Antonio waited on table, with Luigi from the 
Syren ; and at a respectful distance were gathered the donkey-boys 
and water-carriers, and the delegation from the village, who watched 
in silence the progress of the meal. Cold chicken, tongue, hard 
boiled eggs, and all kinds of good things, came out of the hamper, 
and hot coffee finished the repast, which every Arab knows how to 
prepare at a moment's notice. Every one had a fine appetite, and 
all were in good spirits. It was a large party when they were thus 
all gathered together, — fourteen in all, — some of whom had never 
met until that day ; but nothing tends more to rapid intimacy than 
expeditions like these. 

The English additions from the Syren were "awfully nice," and 
Bessie felt very proud of having introduced them. Mr. and Mrs. 
Ford were a young married couple. Miss Mackaye appeared to be 
older than her sister ; she was a delicate, shy little person, a little 
nearsighted, and a little stiff at first, but very genial afterwards. 

The Professor w r as all excitement and animation, and full of the 
wish to impart all he knew and thought about the wonderful relics 
of the past they were studying. Frau von Lessli was a dear little 
old lady ; that is, she seemed ancient to the Stuyvesant boys, and 
like their grandmamma to the Homers. She wore a little cap, and 
spectacles which she was always losing, and her step was a little infirm. 
Her real age was not much over fifty, which, when the Homers reach 
themselves they will consider quite youthful. They came to call- 
ing her " Madame," and watched over her with tenderness and 
respect. She talked no English, and so was generally silent dur- 
ing the rapid play of conversation when all were assembled, though 
she understood most of it; she talked French fluently, as did every 



124 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

one in the party, and she and Philip, when occasion served, had 
long talks in German, in which he is supposed to have confided to 
her the very depths of his being. 

This was the first and last expedition off the dahabieh under- 
taken by Mrs. Stuyvesant. She went this time to give it a trial, 
and she enjoyed it pretty well ; but she confessed she did not like 
a donkey, and it tired her to keep her head bent up to look at 
the wall-pictures. This opinion she expressed just as luncheon was 
coming to an end. 

" You know," she said, "there is always plenty to do on the 
boat, and 1 shall enjoy having you come back to tell me about 
it." 

They were loitering over oranges and bananas, when a strange 
noise arose in the neighborhood ; a quarrel between two of the 
donkeys, who began to he-haw at each other, and induce a general 
stamping and kicking among all the beasts. One of them broke 
loose. Ernest and Augustine dropped their napkins, and with a 
shout rushed in pursuit, in company with the whole flock of " rag- 
bags," which was the name generally applied to the natives. The 
chase was not long; a donkey is not the fleetest of steeds. 
Meanwhile the more ardent tourists went back to the tombs and 
the inspection of walls. Mr. Ford and Mr. Stuyvesant settled 
themselves to their cigars and a chat upon European politics. 
Mrs. Stuyvesant composed herself to a nap, and Madame to her 
knitting, with the same result. Mary found a place to make a 
pretty sketch of the bright-green borders of the Nile, with the 
belt of sand beyond, and the low line of hills in the distance. 
To her surprise, after awhile, Ernest, the elder of the two boys, 
came and threw himself down by her side. 

" Oh my, if I am not hot!" he exclaimed; "that donkey gave 
us a chase." 

"Well, stay here and get cool," replied Mary; "only do not kick 
my water-bottle over. Take care ! " 

It was too late; the bottle was over, and the water trickling 
down through the sand. 



BENI-HASSAN. 128 

Ernest ran to get her some more from a small brown girl with 
a blue night-gown on, who stood round all day holding a stone 
goulehy or jug. 

"Now, I will be quiet," he said, when he came back, "and not 
bother you." 

He was, and watched the putting in of wet washes with deep 
interest. In an hour or so the little sketch was finished, giving a 
pretty impression of the scene. 

" I wish I could do that ! " exclaimed the boy. 

"Well, I will teach you if you like," said Mary. It was the first 
tangible sign of any thing progressive in either of the boys ; one 
which she generously accepted then and there ; and handing over her 
brush and color box, she pulled him through a very tolerable first • 
attempt. After this he took it up with a good deal of perseverance, 
which proved a great blessing to the party, for it kept him quiet, at 
least. He tried faces and figures with some success. 




126 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVEK EGYPT AND tSYKXA 



CHAPTER XIV. 

DENDERAH. 

AFTER this, for several days the Bent-Anat and her consort, the 
Syren, made what speed they could, without other stops than 
the nightly ones when they were tied up to the bank, and could 
interchange speech, often all dining together in the large saloon of 
the Bent-Anat, or lunching on the deck of the smaller Syren. The 
skies were always cloudless, the days warm, and the evenings 
exquisite. 

They were always on the lookout for birds, most of which were 




FAT LITTLE BTRDS. 



new and strange. Sometimes a flight of wild geese trailed across the 
sky at sunset ; and once through the telescope they watched a society 
of vultures perched in a row quite at their ease, not suspecting they 
were undergoing an interview. Herons stood on one leg and dozed 



DENDERAH. 



127 




SACKED SCARAB. 



in the sun. Fat English sparrows pervade the world, the Nile valley 
as well as Madison Square. 

One day, on turning an abrupt bend to the eastward, the wind 
struck both boats 
full on the beam 
and drove them 
both on shore 
where they stuck 
fast in the mud. 
These mishaps 
take place occa- 
sionally on the 
Nile. There en- 
sues a great deal 
of screaming and 

yelling ; but the rei's and sailors always invent a way out of the 
trouble, which in this case consisted of all hands stepping down into 
the shallow river, and pulling by main strength the great bulk of the 
boat into the channel. This caused a delay of twenty-four hours, in 
a spot where there was nothing especial to look at. The travellers 
strolled by the margin of the river, searching for botanical and other 
specimens. The crops raised on the Nile are chiefly different kinds 
of beans with' pretty papilionacious blossoms. Some one met a 
beetle of the very sort of the ancient scarab, who has given his shape 
to the cartouches of the kings. 

This beetle from time immemorial lays its eggs by 
the river's bank ; encloses them in a ball of moist 
clay, which he rolls to a safe place above the reach of 
the river, where he buries it in the sand, and then dies 
content. The ancient Egyptians regarded this little black 
* » scarab, not only as an emblem of the creative and pre- 
serving power, but of the immortality of the soul ; and 
they multiplied its portraits everywhere, in carving and 
painting. It was worn by the living, and buried with the dead. 

Little imitations of the scarab, bearing the cartouche of a king, are 




CARTOUCHE. 



128 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

sold by handfuls by the Arabs to travellers, under the pretence that 
they are ancient. Some may be so still, as the tombs and even the 
ground have been full of similar traces of the past ; but there is 




ASYOUT. 

a regular trade in the manufacture of such modern relics. We 
must not stop with the Homers at Asyout, the capital of Middle 
Egypt, or linger with them at all the places they touched, but 
hurry up the Nile while favoring winds allow against the rising river. 



DENDERAH. 



120 




The reTs and Hassan would have liked to stop not a*l all , but 
to have pressed on as fast as possible to the first cataract, and thus 
make sure of their voyage. Professor von Lessli, on the other hand, 
could not bear to pass unnoticed the smallest temple, or anciently- 
carved rock or face. Between these two there was every variety of 
extreme. The plan of taking the monuments in somewhat chrono- 
logical order, was broken in upon by stopping for the temple at 
Denderah, not built until the time of the Ptolemies, 300 B. c, and 
bearing upon its latest ovals the name and style of Nero. The fact 
of its comparatively recent date renders its 
walls, compact with inscriptions and pictures, 
more full of information and history than the 
earlier buildings ; in this respect Bessie de- 
scribed it as being like the Rdmer, at Frank- 
fort. 

" If the portraits there were modern," she 
remarked, " they reminded you to think of ancient things.'' 

The temple of Denderah consists of a portico supported by immense 
columns, with human heads for capitals, always representing Goddess 
Hathor, all elaborately carved, but now sadly mutilated. The num- 
erous inner chambers are also carved thickly with pictures in bas- 
relief. With the help of Professor von Lessli it was quite possible 
to trace the meaning of many of these carvings. They looked at 
the sculptures like children at a picture-book, who have not (earned 
to read, but understand the story by the illustrations. 

Time has not injured in the least these carvings \ but man has 
done his utmost to destroy all the masterpieces of Egypt ; from the 
earliest time, the conqueror has sought to efface the triumphs of his 
predecessor, yet much remains. Among those that have escaped, is 
the famous bas-relief of Cleopatra, on the back of the temple, now 
protected, by a bank of rubbish, from the Goths of the nineteenth 
century. There are photographs which represent it faithfully, however. 
Cleopatra is depicted with a head-dress that gives the attributes of 
three goddesses, Mant, Hathor and Isis. The hair is dressed in a 
quantity of little fine braids, just like those now worn by the young 



130 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OYER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



Egyptian women ,who do hot take the trouble to ".do" it very often. 

Hathor, the goddess ,to whom the temple at Denderah is dedicated, 
is represented in various ways, but generally with horns, and . a disk 



It was strange, and somewhat awful ; and the air smelt musty, as 
if it had been shut up there with ghosts for centuries. In some of 
these dark cells the faces and figures are intact ; and in some 
places the original color remains quite fresh. . The complexion of 
the goddesses is painted of a light-buff; the skin of the king is 
dark-red; that of the great god Osiris, blue. On the walls of the 
staircase leading to the roof, are wonderful carved figures, mounting, 
apparently, with each step. 

They were glad to come out upon the flat roof and breathe the' 
fresh air, and to shake off the mysterious sense of gloom and shadow 
belonging to the crypts they had left. 

Here they found upon the very : platform that covered the ancient 
temple, the crumbled ruins of a modern Arab village, built of , the 
mud of the river; for the modern fcllaJiin love so to build their 
towns, often quite covering up the monuments, in their desire to 
secure a firm foundation out of the. reach of the high Nile. Such 
has been' the fate of several temples besides Denderah,' and' in each 
instance the temple covered in, and overlaid by the mud huts of 
twenty centuries, has been thus preserved until our own day. At 
Denderah, even the town has perished of itself. At Edfou and Esne, 
the temples have been only lately ' unearthed and brought to light. 
• Our party lingered so long, that when they came down from the 
huge roof it was growing dark. The sun was clown, and even the 
after-glow was fading. Their donkeys trotted along steadily, and in 
silence they approached the river bank, and were glad enough to 
see in the distance a bobbing line of lanterns, which proved to be 
in the hands of some of the sailors sent out to guide them through 



on her head, and in her two hands the 'sceptre, and the 
"sign of life." " • • . 



Passing from the portico through" the "dim light, of cor- 
ridors, the Homers found themselves in halls perfectly 
dark except for the flaring candles carried by the guides." 




CO ABDIL. 



DMN DKKAH. 188 

the darkness back to the boat. They were growing very fond of 
the faithful brown creatures, who worked so hard to serve them, 
and smiled so cordially when any thing kind was said, or clone, to 
them. A row of white teeth illumines a brown face with great 
effect in a smile. Little Ali was a great favorite, and Boabdil the 
helmsman was a picturesque creature. 

It was only a small detachment which had visited Denderah that 
day, for the Syren, lighter and swifter than the Bent-Anat, had 
spread its wings and passed them, moving up the river without 
stopping. 

The Fords were impatient to reach Luxor, where there would 
be letters. The two parties were pledged to meet there, whatever 
happened, and eat their Christmas dinner together. Only the three 
gentlemen, therefore, with Philip, Mary, and Bessie, spent the day 
at the temple and lunched in its shadow. The married ladies and 
Emily passed the time quietly on the boat, while the two boys went 
off in the sandal, or small boat, with two of the sailors, to shoot 
birds. They had a wonderful day, and brought back game enough 
for several dinners. 

During the pleasant dinner on deck, lighted, by candles which 
did not flicker in the still night air, the Professor gave an animated 
account of the wonders of Denderah, for the benefit of the ladies. 
Bessie was rather silent. When she and Mary were going to bed, 
pretty soon after, — for they were tired after so long a day, — 
she said : 

" I must come at more about this business of their gods and 
goddesses. I shall get up early to-morrow, and read up." 

So when the others came on deck, one by one, in the morning, 
they found Bessie absorbed in Rawlinson, with a pile of other 
books on the divan beside her, an empty coffee-cup near by, and 
her second orange in her hand. 

The Egyptians were profoundly religious. The great temple of 
each city was the centre of its life. They believed, it is thought, 
in one God, a pure spirit, perfect in every respect, all-wise, almighty, 
supremely good. Their many gods, they worshipped as personified 




134 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

attributes of this great Being ; as we sometimes speak of wor- 
shipping God 
^ / " through na- 

ture." They 
erected a tem- 
ple to Ra, the 
sun; not as if 
Ra was a sun 
deity with a 
distinct exist- 
ence, but the 
supreme God 
acting in the 
sun, making his 
light shine to 
ATHaR - cheer and bless 

the earth. There were many of these gods and goddesses, each 
easily recognized by the symbols with which they are represented. 

Ammon was worshipped in the form of a man walking or sitting 
upon a throne, and crowned with a head-dress made of a pair of 
tall, stiff feathers, standing side by side, some- 
times plain, sometimes varied by four or five 
broad black bars. It is a great compliment to 
place a king between two gods ; thus Rameses the 
Second is represented between Horus, with the 
hawk's head, and Set, with square-topped ears. 
Hak, a goddess of tombs, has the head of a 
frog. 

Sabak is the crocodile-headed god. As the 
crocodile was the only animal that attacked man 
in Egypt, it was natural that he should be either 
hated, as at some temples, or else as elsewhere, 
honored and reverenced. Generally speaking, however, Sabak and 
his sacred animal were held in horror and detestation. 

Some of them appear to correspond with the gods and goddesses 




HAK. 



DENDERAH. 



L86 



of the Greek mythology ; and Athor has been called the Venus 
of the Kgyptians. Strictly speaking, she represents the lower hemi- 
sphere, from which the sun rose in the morning, and in which she 
sank at evening. 

Cows were sacred to her, and she is sometimes represented as 
a spotted cow herself, bearing on its head her disk and horns. 




FORMS OF ATHOR. 



130 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYI'T AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER XV. 



LUXOR. 




k N 



OW came many days of steady sail- 



ing, 



for Luxor must be reached 



before Christmas Day. The Syren was far 
ahead of them, — out of sight. A small 
private steamer swept past one morning, 
which they had heard about, and knew to 
contain a party of American gentlemen, 
jjj The regular steamer, with Cook's tourists, 
was up the river long ago, and perhaps 
turning round to come down by this time. 

Matters had settled into routine on the 
Bent-Anat. Mr, Horner enjoyed the life 
wonderfully. 

" Papa, I wish mamma could see you ! " 
cried Mary. " You are growing too fat ! " 
He was at that moment lying on a divan on the upper deck, 
making little curls of smoke with his cigarette, and conspicuously 
doing nothing, though he held a novel in his hand. 

" I wish we could see her ? " he replied. " We shall have letters 
at Luxor. I believe, though, I am growing too lazy," and he strolled 
over to the telescope, which Philip was working over, to adjust it 
for Augustine and Ernest to see the distant shore. 

The two boys had taken a fatal fancy for Philip, which, it must 
be confessed, he did not altogether reciprocate. They would have 
been always at his heels if he would have allowed it ; but he was 
sometimes pretty rough with them ; their fondness for him was thus 



NITjE bank. 



LUXOR. 187 

chastened by a certain fear which kept them in good order, and 
they obeyed him with a promptitude that amazed their mamma. 

''The boys have so much improved," she said more than once. 




THROUGH THE GLASS. 



" I can't think how it is. The climate of Paris must have been too 
exciting for them." 

Mary gave over entirely to Ernest a little box of paints, a tolerable 
brush, and one of her beloved little sketch-books. At this last Bessie 
remonstrated : 

" Mary, you are silly to do that ! You will want to use that little 
book as soon as you have filled up this one you are painting in 
now." 

"Well, no matter," said Mary. "It is better for me to use my 
big block more." 



138 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

Ernest had early escaped from the trammels of his teacher in 
art, and perpetrated wonderful pictures of camels, palm-trees, and 
ruins, a good deal out of his head, and without much attention to 




EKNJittT « SPHLNX. 



the facts. There was a certain cleverness in what he did, which 
delighted his mamma. At any rate, it kept him occupied, off and 
on ; but he used a great deal of gamboge. 

Augustine devoted himself to the live stock on board, less to their 
enjoyment than his own. Whenever the boat stopped at a town 
or village, a supply of sheep, hens, and chickens, was laid in ; these 
took up a temporary residence in the fore part of the lower deck, 
awaiting their doom ; meanwhile, Augustine fed them constantly with 
whatever he could lay his hands on. The cook thought his wish 
was to fatten them for eating. There was a big brown sheep which 
they all called Mary's little lamb, because it ran up the crossing- 
plank after her on its first arrival. One day when Augustine was 
poking the poor beast, and teasing it with mock offers of food, the 
clumsy animal suddenly kicked over the side of its pen and sprang 
upon him. The boy fled, even to the upper deck, the lamb in 
full pursuit, only captured by the combined efforts of Philip and 
Antonio, who was setting the table in the saloon. 

The next day as he was serving a dish of cotelettes de mouton a 
V Anglais, Antonio murmured to Bessie respectfully, that they were 
a part of Miss Mary's lamb. 

" I'm glad of it ; give me another piece ! " cried Augustine, stick- 
ing his fork vindictively into the cutlet. 



LUXOR. 



13 



Coming first, as usual, on deck, the third morning after leaving 
Denderah, Bessie was met by Hassan, who, with his most beam- 
ing smile, said : 

"Good-morning, Miss Bess! Luxor coming!" 

She ran to the side and looked about eagerly, but could see 
nothing ; evidently something was in the air, however, for the sailors 
were in an unusual 
bustle, sweeping and 
setting to rights. It 
was a warm, hazy 
morning, with vague 
mountains only hinted 
at through the mist. 

By the time that 
the family had all 
assembled, the mist 
was lifted, and on the 
left was to be seen 
a rich plain scattered 
with palms ; on the 
right, a range of lime- 
stone mountains, but 
still no sign of the 
wonders of Karnak ; 
nothing that looked 
like a temple, to show 
that they were draw- 
ing near the grandest 
ruins in the world. 

Presently came in 
sight, however, one of 
the propylons, then 
soon a crowd of masts showed they were really arrived at their desti- 
nation. Guns were fired, flags w r ere run up, the sailors made music 
on their strange instruments, — all was excitement as the Bent- 




A CROWD OF MASTS. 



140 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

Anat moved up to her position among the many dahabiehs at their 
moorings before Luxor. 

Luxor is a large modern village built upon a small part of the 
site of ancient Thebes, the great capital of ancient Egypt. It 
was an immense city, covering large spaces on both sides of the 
river : its quays, public and private buildings, are long gone to 
decay ; but five large groups of ruins of sacred temples, remain. 
Of these the so-called Karnak is on the same side as Luxor ; on 
the other side, nearly opposite, are the famous sitting Colossi, and 
the three other great ruins. 

Thus there are here assembled more points of interest than else- 
where at any one place on the Nile. It is well to devote as long 
a time as possible to the study of the monuments of Thebes, and the 
change from the floating life on the river to fixed headquarters, is 
very pleasant. Luxor is close upon the bank, and its temple 
rises up a grand pile in the middle of the modern village, with 
the twin towers of the great propylon, and in front of them, two 
great carved giants, battered and buried up to the chin, the only 
feature left them. A few yards in front, stands one solitary obelisk, 
bereft of its mate, which wears its life out in the fast life of the 
Place de la Concorde, at Paris. From Luxor runs an avenue of 
sphinxes, which used to connect it with the temple at Karnak, to 
which, however, the grand entrance fronts the river. 

But all thoughts of Karnak were postponed to another day. 
" Letters ! letters ! " cried every one, and they waited impatiently 
till these should be brought, going no farther away from the boat 
than a stone's throw, to view the front of the old temple, with its 
obelisk. 

"Only think!" said Mary, " how different it looks from the 
French one. How little we thought when we were standing there 
in the Place de la Concorde, that we should see the mate so 
soon." 

"The French one was a kind of magnet to draw us here," 
said Bessie ; " don't you know, that made us more curious about 
the Egyptian things in the Louvre?" 



LUXOR 141 

" Yes ; and Ramescs," added Philip ; " and we all said we must 
come and see Uameses at home. 

"Oh dear!" sighed Mary, "it was aunt Gus who said that." 
" Here comes papa with letters!" 

And Mr. Horner approached with a large handful. Letters for 
everybody, from everybody ; letters from mamma, and aunt Dut, 
and Tommy. Yes ! and one from Mr. Hervey to Mr. Horner, 
with an envelope marked "private" at which, after looking long, 
he put in his pocket. 

This was little noticed by the others, who began to open their 
letters even as they walked back through the dusty village to the 
boat. Bessie read as she went, until she fairly fell over a Luxor 




COLUMNS OF TEMPLE AT LUXOR. 



dog who was asleep in the middle of the road. Philip picked her 
up, and helped her brush her dress, while the dog ran off howling. 
She postponed the rest of her correspondence till she reached her 
favorite corner of the divan on deck. 



142 A FAMILY FLIGHT OYER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

There was long silence on the dahabieh. Some of the party 
were above, some below, some in their cabins, all devouring the 
news from home. After a time, a rush took place ; each one 
seeking the other, to compare notes. 

" Grandmamma is a great deal better ! " says one. 

" Uncle Horatio and all his family are in Keene ! " 

" Tommy has had the measles ! " 

" Aunt Augusta has been staying with mamma ! " 

"Mr. Hervey came up to Keene in October!" 

Such were a part of the exclamations of the Homers while 
the Stuyvesants were opening their letters, and the Professor and 
Madame were closeted with theirs in their sanctum below. 

Then there was a general reading aloud. Mrs. Horner's letters to 
Mary were meant for the family at large, and made a complete 
journal of her doings from the first of October. M-iss Lejeune 
wrote lively accounts of her visit to Keene, and of charming 
drives with Mr. Hervey in the beautiful neighborhood, which is at 
its best in October, when the foliage of maple and oak 'is glowing 
with Persian splendor, and the brilliant sunsets of autumn enhance 
the landscape. She also sang the praises of baked apples and 
cream, and of roast potatoes, after long drives in the crisp and 
sparkling air. Last, but not least, came Tommy's letter to Bessie, 
which was postponed to be read at lunch, for the benefit of the 
whole assembled party. 

The whole day was full of novelties. A note came from the 
Fords, inviting everybody to dine on the Syren that evening, all 
the passengers having started early for the day at Karnak, with 
the message left behind. There was a run of visitors all day long: 
Americans from the steamer, who ventured to claim acquaintance 
on the strength of the mutual Stars and Stripes ; a French gen- 
tleman with his family, whom Mr. Stuyvesant recognized as an old 
acquaintance at the Bourse. Every new face brought fresh greet- 
ings, cordiality, and enthusiasm. Nothing so warms the heart to 
social politeness and real Christian good-feeling, as these chance 
meetings of a common race in an alien land. 



LUXOK. 148 

Among all the gay faces, Mr. Horner's was the most beaming. 
"How happy papa seems!" said his children to each other. 
"What can have come over him! lie's perfectly jolly." 
"It must be his letters from mamma!" 

But of the letter marked private, from Mr. Hervey, their papa 
said never a word. 





• 



144 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



RAMESES THE SECOND. 




HE towers of Luxor are covered with 



CARTOUCHE OF RAMESES II. 



A elaborate sculptures of gods and men, 
horses and chariots, battles and victories. The 
king in his chariot fights his enemies, or sits 
enthroned above them. Armies march across 
the walls ; the vanquished fly. 



The priests burn incense before him. 



This king is Rameses the Second, the same as Sesostris, and 
Osymandyas ; best known in history as Rameses the Great. Like 
Charlemagne in later times, and Louis XIV. in modern history, he 
is the nucleus of the splendor which hangs still around the 
Egyptian ruins. 

The interest in Rameses the Second is a live, personal one, while 
the other kings have no vitality behind their names. The Homers 
had already learned his cartouche, and now began to recognize his 
features and attributes. To go through Egypt without some knowl- 
edge of this great monarch, would be a grave mistake. 

Rameses the Second was the son of Seti L, the second Pharaoh of 
the nineteenth dynasty, which prevailed some three thousand years 
later than the fourth dynasty of Khufu, the builder of the Great 
Pyramid. It must be remembered that the word " Pharaoh " means 
"king," and is not the proper name of one monarch. All the 
kings of Egypt were Pharaohs, as all the rulers of our country are 
presidents. Rameses succeeded to the throne very young, and imme- 
diately became famous for his battles, one of which is depicted 
on the towers at Luxor, and described in a poem by Pentaour 



RAMESES THE SECOND. 146 

in good preservation, written upon papyrus. lie carried war into 
the land of Canaan, and took the fortresses of Ascalon and Jeru- 
salem, as well as 
other strong places. 
He married a prin- 
cess of Kheta, a 
land which he had 
conquered. The 
names of two more 
of his queens are 
found on the mon- 
uments ; so it is 
probable that he had 
a good many wives. 
His family is re- 
corded in one place 

RAMESES SLAYING HIS ENEMIES IN HONOR OF THE GOD 

as amounting to one ammon, who encourages him by his gestures. 
hundred and seventy 

children, of whom one hundred and eleven were princes ; but this 
was but a small family for a great king in those days. 

Rameses lived at peace with his neighbors during the later years 
of his life, and, like Louis XIV., it became his passion to build. 
He founded new cities, dug canals, erected gorgeous and costly 
temples with statues, obelisks, and inscriptions. His public works 
were far beyond all that had been done before in Egypt. Of these 
immense structures only huge fragments have survived ; but these 
are the wonder of the world. 

These monuments were all built by slaves and the captives of 
war, and among them, undoubtedly, were the Hebrews condemned 
"to make bricks without straw," in the Bible narrative; for it is now 
considered that the second Rameses was the Pharaoh of the captivity, 
and that his son and successor named Menephthah, was the Pha- 
raoh of the exodus. The Bible and the monuments confirm each 
other on these points, and all new research adds fresh proof. 

Rameses II. reigned over his great kingdom for the space of sixty- 




146 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



seven years. For a long time there has been much discussion 
about his tomb ; and only the most recent discoveries have brought 
to light, in a lonely spot opposite Luxor, hidden behind a lime- 




R AMESES BETWEEN TWO GODS. 



stone cliff, a gallery containing some thirty-six mummies, includ- 
ing more than twenty kings and queens, among which is that of 
Rameses the Second. It has been taken, with the rest, also of great in- 
terest, to the Boulak Museum of Antiquities, where Bessie saw it 
later, in excellent preservation, the hand alone gone, doubtless stolen 
years ago, for the sake of the rings upon it. 

These royal mummies were removed from their natural resting- 
places and concealed by a later king, to protect them from maraud- 
ing Arabs, who, even at an early date, rifled such tombs. And 
this is all we know of the great hero of ancient Egypt ; and, slight 
as it is, it is wonderful to know so much. We may invest him 
with every heroic attribute, without, however, adoring him to the 




PROPYT.ON AT KARNAK. 



RAMESES T 1 1 K SECOND. 149 

degree which his people seem to have clone. Even his wives are 
represented in the performance of acts of religious homage before 
him. 

The interest which they had gained in this great king by pre- 
vious reading, prepared the Homers to enjoy seeing the capital 
of his realm ; for Thebes was in its greatest glory, and the art 
of Egypt at its highest point during his time. Their first day was 
devoted to a short inspection of the ruins of Thebes, at Karnak, 
by Philip and his sisters, who could not wait for the grand ex- 
cursion thither which was contemplated for the whole united force 
of the different parties. Mounted on three donkeys, and with only 
a moderate number of guides and donkey-boys, they rode through 
the village and across a barren plain, catching glimpses of tall 
propylons in the distance, until they found themselves in, an avenue 
composed of a double line of sphinxes, but alas ! so shattered that 
every one was headless. 

"What a shame to destroy them!" cried Mary. 

"How much more respectable, though," said Bessie, "they look 
than those smooth modern creatures about the Tuileries ! " 

And now they found themselves in such a confused mass of 
huge ruins, such a wealth of fallen magnificence, that they were 
all bewildered, and knew not where to turn. Desolation, grandeur, 
solitude, all impressed them so deeply that they cared not to 
speak, or even seek to discover by maps and plans, any key to 
the disorder around them. They found themselves in the first 
court, where, in the midst of a large quadrangle open to the sky, 
stands one solitary column, the last of a central avenue of twelve, 
some of which lie just as they fell, undermined by the inundating 
river. 

They moved on and walked about, bewildered and silent, half 
dazed by the hugeness and utter confusion of the place. After- 
wards they studied the facts and figures about the size of the 
columns and the ground plan of the original edifice, until their 
minds received a fair idea of its extent ; but they never lost the 
first impression of desolate solemnity then received. 



150 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

At last they found themselves upon the flat roof of one part 
of the propylon, and there lingered, thoughtful and more quiet than 
usual, and looking off to the river across the green plain. 

" Is it not nice," said Bessie, "to be off by ourselves for once?" 

u Yes," said Philip; "but I keep expecting to see one of the 




RUINS AT KARNAK. 



boys after us. Sometimes I get so tired of them I feel like throw- 
ing them overboard." 

"How they have settled down, though," said Mary. "I thought 
at first they would lead us a life ! " 

Even as she was speaking, the solemn silence of the spot was 
broken by most unghostly sounds,— Arabic and English mingled in 
scolding and laughing; through the opening of the stairway upon 
their roof, appeared two small heads. 



R AMESES THE SECOND. 151 

"Halloo! here they are!" cried Augustine, while Ernest, turning 
to his pursuing Arab, called out " Empsheh ! Empsheh ! Get oul ! 
we don't want you any more ! " 

" Backsheesh, backsheesh ! " screamed the Arab in return. 

" Back to the donkeys ! I tell you," said Ernest. 

"What is the row?" called Philip, coming to the rescue. 

"Oh, nothing," explained the two, talking together. "Only we 
got Hassan to engage us these donkeys, and they are afraid to 
leave us for fear they should not get paid ; and we thought it 
would be good fun to hide 'from them, so we have led them a 
pretty dance all over the place." 

" You were lucky not to get lost," said Philip. 

" Lost ! we have not known where we were for ages ! " said 
Ernest. " Just now we saw your guides down below, and they 
showed us up here." 

They sat down on a hewn stone and wiped their brows. The 
excited Arabs seemed appeased, and retired to a distance. 

"Is not this an immense place?" said Augustine "Rather out 
of repair, though ! " 

"What's the use of such a lot of rubbish?" cried Ernest. "I 
say, I think we are having too much of these ruins." 

" O Ernest ! " exclaimed Mary. " You'll be sorry one of these 
days if you do not look at things now just as hard as you can, 
so as to remember them." 

"Bother!" he replied. "They are all just alike. It must have 
been fun to knock off the heads of those goats. V 

"Goats! they are sphinxes!" said Bessie wrathfully. 

" Are they ? well, it's all the same. Look here, Bessie, I know 
just what we are going to have for dinner to-morrow." 

" Horrid boy !. to mention dinner on top of the propylon of 
Karnak." 

Their solemn hour was vanished, however, and they made haste 
to descend and to horse, or rather to donkey. And they had 
a wild gallop at the top of their speed back to Luxor. 

The dinner mentioned by Ernest was no slight affair ; for it 



152 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

was the Christmas dinner, and a large party was invited to it, on 
board the Bent-Anat. The Fords were coming. One or two French 
gentlemen were coming, and one or two from the American steam- 
boat ; and whom should they meet as they were near their boat, 
but Cockywax ! 

"Mr. Buffers!" exclaimed Mary. 

" Miss Horner! Can it be? is it possible?" said that embar- 
rassed, amazed, and delighted youth. 

He had just arrived, coming down the river, and had no notion 
of who was at Luxor. He was instantly secured as another guest 
for their Christmas dinner. 




!WTR. TC TIF FEES. 



TOMMY'S LETTER. 



153 



CHAPTER XVII. 



TOMMY S LETTER. 



"Keene, N. H., Nov. 15. 
EAR BESSIE : — I have had the 
measles. It was not very bad, 
I had nothing to eat. Doctor 
Mitchell is a splendid man. He 
lets me have ice-cream now every 
day. I suppose you are on the 
Nile now. Give my love to Mr. 
Stuyvesant. I like Keene very 
well, but not' so much as 
Paris. 

There is more snow here. Un- 
cle Horatio has come, and aunt 
Martha, she is his wife. I never 
saw her before. Her nose is the 
same as that German princess 
we saw in Berlin. They are 
going to live here, I expect, for 
they brought seven trunks and 
two canaries in a cage. Eliza 
does not like them very well. 
She says mamma is nicer. Jane 
thinks they are not much. 

"Jane is the cook. She 
makes griddles. Grandmamma 
can walk about some, and so I read aloud to her, which makes 




154 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

her go to sleep directly. Aunt Gus was here, and Mr. Hervey came 
too, and everybody came to see them, and had tea-parties with four 
kinds of cake. And they had Mrs. Jarley's wax works, and aunt Gus 
was Queen Elizabeth. Mr. Hervey was the only gentleman except 
me. 

"That was before I had the measles. Mr. Hervey wished we 
were in Norway riding in a carriole. Then he went away. Doctor 
Mitchell says I must not use my eyes too much. 

Yours truly, 

Thomas Horner, Esq." 

"P. S. Uncle Horatio has two children. They are grown up. At 
least, I believe so. Perhaps they will come here to live. They are 
not now." 

" Mary," said Bessie, when they were going to bed that evening, 
" if uncle Horatio and all the family are with grandmamma, I do not 
see why mamma need stay there any longer." 

"I thought of that," said Mary. "You know before we left, aunt 
Martha wrote that she could not possibly go to Keene." 

"Just like her!" exclaimed Bessie; "old spoil-sport! and now, 
when poor mamma has stayed behind, she sails in herself." 

Aunt Martha was not a favorite with the Homers. She was their 
uncle's second wife, and there was an impression that he was hen- 
pecked. 

There were two children, boys, much older than the Homers, 
who had never shown much sympathy for their cousins, and were 
distrusted by them accordingly. 

" I wonder what mamma will do," said Mary ; u the letters do not 
tell about her plans." 

"I wish she were here !" groaned Bessie; "and I hate to think of 
a Christmas dinner without Tommy!" 

Here Bessie slipped out of her cabin to confer with Hassan, 
who was to manage to smuggle a well-filled stocking into the bed 
of each of the Stuyvesant boys, and Philip's, and introduce similar 



JT MIGHT HAVE BEEN. 



TOMMY'S LETTER. 1V < 

ones into the cabins of the gentlemen. She herself managed those 
she had prepared for the ladies of the party, for the next day was 
Christinas, — Christmas on the Nile! 

The stockings caused great merriment ; and Bessie, the author of 
the fun, was not neglected; for Philip had stuffed into her stocking 
the mummy of a cat, which bore, in its faded yellow wrappings, 
some semblance still to the animal whose bones had been thus wound 
up a thousand years ago. Ap- 
ples, nuts, cheap relics of mod- 
ern manufacture, fell out of 
the stockings, and the Bcnt- 
Anat resounded with laughter 
and shouts of "Merry Christ- 
mas ! " 

The guests arrived. The 
dinner was a stupendous effort 
on the part of the cook and 
Antonio, who had decorated 
the table in a manner worthy 
of the occasion. In the centre 
rose an edifice of sugar, meant 
to represent the Capitol at 
Washington, over which the 
Stars and Stripes waved in 
tiny flags. Course followed 
course, in which the tur- 
key — beloved of our nation. 




GUESTS AKIUVING. 



— figured, and later, the English 



plum-pudding, blazing with blue flame, and stuck all over with 
almonds. 

Twenty people sat down at the long table which was spread on 
deck and lighted at each end with tall candles, whose many lights 
burned steadily in the still air. How unlike a wintry Christmas 
night at home, perhaps with snow and sleet ! 

Beside their own party, there were the Fords and Mrs. Ford's 
sister, and the Popes from the private steamer which was on its way 



158 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVEPv EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

down the river. Among these was young Mr. Buffers, who had 
the supreme happiness of sitting next to Mary. He renewed his 
allegiance at once, and she was pleased to see him again. 

" You seem to be' always travelling, Mr. Buffers," she said. 

"Not any more than you, nor so much," he replied; "for you 
have been all the way to America since we met." 

"That's true!" said Mary, laughing. "I did not think of that. 
What have you been doing?" 

" In London all the time, but it is very dull in London, you 
know, for a young fellow like me. I do not care for society, you 
know, because, do you know, you are the only person that I can 
talk with, very well, you know?" 

"Really!" said Mary, a little embarrassed. 

She was glad when a little tap turned the general attention to 
Mr. Stuyvesant, who rose to make a "speech." 

Mr. Stuyvesant' s speech will not be reported. It was not very 
witty, but it was well received, and the general ease and hilarity 
were great. So much talking was going on that the two boys 
were quite unobserved, and both ate so much plum-pudding and 
ice-cream, that they were ill the next day, and unable to join 
the party for Karnak, which was to include everybody. This was 
of the less consequence, that they had, as we know, had their 
own private excursion thither the day before ; and perhaps their 
absence would not be much regretted. 

After the long dinner was over, the table removed, the party 
broke up into little groups. The sunset was over, and as yet the new 
moon had not made its appearance ; but there was twilight enough to 
shed a soft light on the deck. All was still upon the bank, and the 
river glided by silently. Mary and Bessie sat with Miss Mackaye 
near the edge of the boat, and chatted quietly. They all tried to 
imagine how one of these great temples may have looked in its 
prime, unmutilated, and with the lotus growing at its foot. Then 
the girls talked about their mother, and Tommy, and why they 
had not come, and a little about their previous travelling on the 
Continent. 



TOMMY'S LKTTEH 



159 



She was a gentle little woman, or rather, a little gentlewoman, 
\vho took much interest in their American ideas and manners. 

" This reminds me somehow of Heidelberg, Bessie," said Mary. 

" Do you remember 
it?" 

" Don't 1 ? " said 
Bessie ; " but aunt 
Gus was with us then, 
and Mr. Hervey." 

"Mr. He r vey ? " 
asked Miss Mackaye. 
"An American gen- 
tleman with a dark 
beard ? " 

"Yes !" exclaimed 
both the girls. '" Do 
you know him ? " 

"We saw him fre- 
quently in London, 
last season," replied 
Miss Mackaye. " He 
had some business 
matters to attend to 
'with Mr. Ford, and 
he dined with us sev- 
eral times." 

"How strange!" said Bessie. "Did not he tell you about us?" 

"He said he had just left a delightful party at Heidelberg. I 
remember now, perfectly, but he did not mention your names." 

" Nor yours to us," said Mary ; " though he told us about his 
London friends on the homeward voyage. But I do not remember 
his telling their names." 

" Boston people never do ; " remarked Bessie. This made a new r 
tie between the Fords and the Horners. They could now tell 
each other little anecdotes of Mr. Hervey's good nature and prowess 




160 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

in travelling, and all united in praising the absent, mutual friend. 

Meanwhile Madame von Lessli and Philip were having one of 
their long talks ; Mrs. Stuyvesant had gone down to the saloon, 
where she was nodding over a book. Miss Emily was comparing 
her opinion of the restaurants of Paris with those of the two 

French gentlemen, 
while the other gen- 
tlemen were having, 
as they smoked, a deep 
discussion upon the 
finances of Egypt. 

The present condi- 
tion of Egypt was not 
a cheerful one. Its 
nominal ruler was Mo- 
hammed Tewfik, a 
young man whose 
father was compelled 
to resign the govern- 
ment some years ago, 
by the Sultan of Tur- 
key acting under the 
orders of England, — 
for Egypt is but a 
province of Turkey, and its ruler, who is called the Khedive, a 
viceroy under the Sultan. The ex-Khedive, Ismail Pacha, father 
to the present one, succeeded to the rule of Egypt in 1863. He 
was a man of undoubted energy, with a European education, and 
his intention was to elevate the condition of his country. He 
began a series of reforms such as no previous governor of Egypt 
had ever contemplated ; introduced railways, telegraphs, lighthouses, 
and harbor works, and did much to improve the laws and educa- 
tion of the people. Unfortunately these schemes could not be 
carried out without money, and it was thus that Ismail made ship- 
wreck. He squeezed the unfortunate natives, — called fellahin—X.o 




A DEEP DISCUSSION. 



TOMMY'S LETTER. 



Mil 



the uttermost fafthing; collected taxes upon things which did not 
exist, and when even this failed to extort all the money he wanted 
for his vast enterprises-, he borrowed immense sums in England 
and France, which he could never pay, nor even keep up the 
enormous interest demanded of him. He became a complete bank- 
rupt; the result was the assumption by England and France of 
the government of Egypt on behalf of the bondholders of the 
two nations. He was removed from office because he made so 
many difficulties in the settlement of his affairs, for his young son 
was expected to be, as he has proved, more tractable. The taxes 
were now devoted to the payment of the interest of the national 

debt ; it is to be hoped that under the pro- 
tectorate of France and England, a brighter 
future is in store for Egypt. 

The fellaJnu, or peasants, of Egypt, have 
been a most oppressed race, making all the 
wealth of their country by their industry, 
which has been enormously taxed. The mod- 
ern Egyptian is the same as those depicted 
on the oldest wall-pictures, doing just the 



" BACKSHEESH." 

same tasks that he 
does to-day, and look- 
ing just the same. 

It is a fine race 
physically, with sim- 
ple tastes, very de- 
voted to its religion, 





ftp 1. Rlu marnifiK »rier cam In* the bncka. 
' »■ 13 "Wl? »"•' the cl«jr 01 

It, 10. t'cuoliig r fruu Uic Uok, ■. 



B. |i *l«*ing bricu <rtth i *im»i mo Jit. d, k. 
it e Itc brick. (Idoi) are Mid to N: nuuc It T>KtK». 



which enjoins clean- 
liness and temper- 
ance, but oppressed 
through ages of Turkish misrule. The party broke up rather late in 



lgicigQ caputo ccil tuyoJ m a a^ i£ ottJu At ilicbcj. 



KOUEIGN CAPTIVES. 



162 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



the evening, the gentlemen escorting 
their guests to the plank across 
the muddy river edge, to the shore 
where dusky Arabs with huge square 
lanterns were waiting to light them 
to their respective boats. 

As Mary and Bessie went down the 
steps leading from the deck, Mary 
said : 

" How gay papa seems to-night ! he 
has not been so lively since we left 
home ! " 

"I know it," said Bessie; " just 
listen ! That is a real ' nice-papa ' 
laugh." 

This was the term with which, as 
little children, they had described 
their father's most genial mood. 

As they passed through the narrow 
passage between the cabins, they met 
a strong smell of peppermint, and 
Mrs. Stuyvesant coming from that con- 
taining her sons. 

"I can't think what ails the boys ! " 
she said. "Both of them are rest- 
less and in pain. They must have 
eaten something at dinner which disagreed with them. Poor things ! " 




LIGHTING THEM 



•1EIK BOATS. 



ivAKNAK. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

KARNAK. 

THE morning of the day after Christmas all was liveliness on 
the shore at Luxor. Donkeys and horses were waiting. Has- 
san and Ali, and the other dragomans, were hurrying about with last 
preparations, for almost everybody was to spend the whole day at 
Karnak, and provisions were to be carried for the different parties. 
Everybody was to go, for Karnak is a thing not to be missed. 
Only Ernest and Augustine were left behind. They were not yet 
out of their beds when the note of departure came, and merely 
called from their pillows "We've seen it!" 

The young Homers had received a general impression of this 
wonder of the world, in their first cursory excursion ; but now 
with competent guides who explained every thing as they went, 
they gained a better idea of the ground plan of the vast structure. 
Through the avenue of sphinxes, as before, they came to the great 
propylon at the west end, facing the river, from the top of which 
they had viewed the sunset two nights before. Passing through this 
gateway, they reached a large, open court with a covered corridor 
on either side, and a double line of columns clown the centre, of 
which, alas ! only one remains standing. Through another great 
propylon they came to the Grand Hall, considered the largest and 
most magnificent of all the Egyptian monuments ; a forest, as it 
seemed to our party, of gigantic pillars. At the end of this, is 
another propylon, much ruined, and beyond is a. narrow, open 
court, where are two red obelisks, which, although they are 
seventy-five feet high, appear small in their position. One is thrown 
down and broken, but the "other still stands 



164 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

Then they passed through another propylon, another court, and 
came to the great obelisk of Queen Hatasoo, the largest in the 
world ; but after this, every one of the party, except Professor 
von Lessli, found his head in a whirl of confusion. The walls 
and pillars are so dilapidated, and the courts are so filled with 
broken blocks and fallen columns, that it was difficult to follow 
the architectural plan, especially as they were turned aside often 
to look at inscriptions on the walls, cartouches of kings, which 




hatasoo' s obelisk. 

are a key to the date of construction, and the carving on capitals 
and columns. 

The principal historical pictures are sculptured on the outside of 
the Great Hall. They were began by Seti, and finished by his 
son, Rameses the Great, and represent in detail the great battles 
of these warriors. One set commemorates the victorious campaign 
against Palestine, of Sheshonk L, who is the Shishak of the Bible; 
and Mary and Bessie regarded with awe the long column of hiero- 



K A UN AK. 



107 




QUEEN HATASOO. 



glyphics on a certain wall which the Professor assured them was the 
veritable poem of Pentaour, recounting the deeds of Ramcses the 
Great. 

They lingered over the name 
of the great Oueen Hatasoo, in 
one of the chambers, for she is 
an interesting figure among the 
traditions of this ancient race. 

Thothmes L, of the eight- 
eenth dynasty (b. c. 1600), had a 
daughter called Hashops, or Hat- 
asoo ; at his death his son 
Thothmes II. reigned ; but his 
sister Hatasoo had' so great an 
influence over this young king, 
that he let her assume the royal title, and take a leading part 
in the government. She was the strong-minded female of her 
age. She is suspected of sacrificing every thing to her love of 
power ; even the early death of her royal brother is laid at her 
door ; and after he was dead, she had his name, wherever she 
could, cut off of the monuments, and her own put in its place. 
She then assumed the whole power, wore men's clothes, in which 
she is often represented, and allowed her younger brother, though 

she suffered him to live, no 
better place than her footstool. 

However, she erected many 
buildings, and her obelisks at 
Karnak are equal to any others 
known. She set up statues 
of herself, and erected a rnon- 
Semnut, which is now in the 



V 




CARTOUCHE OF 
THOTHMES II. 



CARTOUCHE OF 
THOTHMES I. 



ument to her favorite architect, 
Berlin Museum. 

After fifteen years, when her little brother was grown up, she 
had to recognize him, and he was taken into partnership. It was 
now his turn ; he erased her name from the monuments, and may 



,168 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

have done worse. " But whether Thothmes drove his sister by force 
from the throne, or whether she slept in Osiris, we cannot tell, 
because the monuments are silent," says Brugsch. 

These tantalizing fragments of the lives of people who walked 
the earth so long ago, are like glimpses of starlight through the 
rifts in a cloudy sky. What we see, we see clearly ; but the veil 
elsewhere is impenetrable. Queen Hatasoo was probably not more 
than forty years old when she died. 

One of the latest additions to our knowledge of the Egyptians 
is the discovery of the mummy-case of Thothmes II., the brother 
so oppressed by Queen Hatasoo. It is in the museum at Boulak, 
where the Homers looked at it with live interest when they came 
back to Cairo. The ground color of it is white, the face yellow, 
the head deep black. The face is excellently modelled, and the 
expression is smiling and life-like. 

Hatasoo soon became an intimate acquaintance of the Horners. 
They discussed her crimes, . and recognized her cartouche wherever 
they saw it ; second only in interest to the Great Rameses, whose 
reign was several generations later. The " little brother," Thoth- 
mes III., became the most famous of his name, and was the 
greatest of Egyptian conquerors, although he has not received, in 
modern times, the romantic halo which is given to Rameses ( the 
Great. 

It was a long, exciting, and fatiguing day at Karnak. The 
expedition, which, on starting, made a long procession, dwindled 
and scattered ; for some went back to their boats after a few- 
hours, others later, but most of our particular friends not only 
lunched, but dined on the spot. 

Turkey rugs were spread at the foot . of one of the huge pillars 
of the Great Hall, and cushions supported the tired heads of the 
ladies. After a dinner of the usual courses, brought hot from 
Luxor, coffee was served, and the gentlemen smoked while the 
others idly reclined, looking up at the sky beyond the graceful 
capitals, where lovely birds floated in the sunlight. 

They stayed until after dark, which almost immediately followed 



IvAKN A K. 



171 



sunset, to see the effect of rockets and blue lights sent off the 
Hall of Columns. It was weird and impressive. Bats and birds 
startled from their 
hiding-places, swept 
away with rustling 
wings. Then silence 
and darkness fell, and 
the tired travellers 
rode slowly back 
through the grassy 
fields to the boat. 

" Do you know," 
said Mrs. Ford's sis- 
ter to Mrs. Stuyve- 
sant, who was 'most 
dead,' as she declared 
herself, " that we are 
thinking of saying 
good-by to-night ?" 

" Good-by ! " ex- 
claimed every one. 

-Are you not going to stay with us for the other side of the 
river ? " cried Bessie, dismayed. 

" Is it not a pity ? My brother finds among his letters one which 
bids us hasten our trip very much. He now wants to be in Cairo 
much earlier than we had intended ; so we think of flying on this 
o-ood wind to the first cataract, and return at once." 
" And not go on into Nubia ? " 

« No ; this changes all our plans. But we had been thinking of 
it a little before; for my sister seems not so very much bene- 
fitted by the climate." 

Moans and lamentations from Bessie, genuine regrets from all, 
followed this announcement; however, they were all so tired that 
a brief farewell must suffice. The next morning when Bessie, the 
early bird, came on deck, the white wings of the Syren were far, 




GKEAT HALL AT KAKNAK. 



172 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



far away up the river, and this was the last they saw of her at 
that time. 

The entire Nile excursion includes the Second Cataract in Nubia ; 
and the Grotto of Aboo-Simbel is considered by those who reach 
it, the greatest wonder of the whole. The Syren was to have pene- 
trated so far before ; but the Fords had thus changed their plans. 
The Horner-Stuyvesant party had no intention of passing beyond 
Philae and the first cataract. The Bent-Anat was too large ; and 
their maxim of travel was to do a little thoroughly, instead of hur- 
rying over much. 

When Bessie told Philip that Mr. Hervey knew the Fords, he 
exclaimed : 

"How funny! How strange!" and he forthwith performed a 
somerset on the divan, which overturned a tumbler of water close 
by, and caused Ernest, who was painting near it, to introduce a 
large streak of indigo in the middle of his sky. 

"When we went to get the letters," explained Phil, as soon as 
he was sitting up again, with his hair sticking out in rays all over 
his head, " I sorted the great bundle of them, and handed them 
round. There was one for Mr. Ford that / know was in Mr. 
Hervey' s handwriting ! " 




SAID BESSIE TO PHILIP- 



BIBAN-EL-MO LOOK . 



173 



CHAPTER XIX. 

BIBAN-EL-MOLOOK. 

THE next morning our party crossed the river for "a delightful 
day," as Mary called it, "at the Tombs of the Kings." This 
is her account of it in her letter to her friend and correspondent at 
home : 

k ' It is a very long donkey-ride, through marvellous wastes of sand 




A RAG-BAG. 



The tombs are excavated downward out of the rock, into the heart of 
the mountain. Did not Belzoni have fun finding them ! The walls 
inside are covered with paintings still very bright in color. We 



174 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

had each a candle to grope about with. There was one awful place 
leading into the very bowels of the earth, and smelling very consid- 
erably of mummy. No mummies there now. When we came out 
we had a funny time with a crowd of 4 rag-bags,' who came round 
with ' antiquities,' as they called them. We all sat down on the 
yellow sand, exhausted with the climb up the steep steps of ' Number 
17;' these creatures assembled v/ith their bags, or baskets, and 
squatted before us, gradually hitching up closer, till finally their 
glowering eyes and grinning teeth were right in our faces ; then 
silently they produced their treasures, — a mummy-hand with a ring 
on it, a piece of mummy-case (worthless ! ), scarabei, and so on. 

" Hassan standing in the middle of them, did the bargaining. 

" ' Well, Hassan,' says Mr. Stuyvesant, 'you may ask him what he 
will take for this hawk, with nothing but the feet and tail left.' • 

" Hassan, to the Arab: ' Warragy-warragy, wag-wag.' Arab 
demands five pounds. Hassan throws the thing contemptuously in 
his face, saying, 'La! la!' (No, no.) Til give you two piastres.' 
So the man surrenders the hawk, and takes two piastres, which is 
more than it is worth. Eight piastres make an English shilling. 
After this we lunched at the mouth of a tomb, and some napped 
while I made a dreary sketch. It is a desolate enough spot, with- 
out a spear of grass. The new Maspero opening, from which they 
have taken the mummies of Rameses, etc., is somewhere about here. 

"It was a fatiguing day, but lovely dropping down to the river 
on our gentle little donkeys, in the magnificent sunset. We have 
one every night, — all different, -all beautiful." 

It will be seen that Mary was more attracted by the scenery, 
and the actual surroundings of their life, than the antiquities. 
Bessie, on the other hand, put all her young wits into the effort 
of- comprehending the sequence of the old dynasties, to the great 
delight of the German professor. She accompanied him everywhere, 
and if her brain refused to follow the leading of his, she did not 
flinch, but bravely endeavored to grasp the whole. 

Philip was not so thorough. He had a quick mind, and began 
by thinking he was going to see through the hieroglyphics at a 



* 



BIBAN-EL-MOLOOK. 



177 



glance. Finding out soon his mistake, he concluded that "it did not 
pay," and when the wall-readings began, after a casual glance at the 
general effect, he would slip off, to see what the boys were doing. 




PALACE OF KAMESES III., MEDINET-ABOU. 



This was a good excuse, if excuse had been needed ; but no one 
dreamed of forcing the boy to take a precocious interest in a 
difficult subject. 

There are twenty-five of these tombs now open, but they are 
not all equally interesting. They are known by their numbers ; and 
No. 17, commonly called Belzoni's, is the best preserved. It is the 
tomb of Seti L, the father of our friend Rameses the Second. The 
intention of its builders, as in all the tombs, was to wholly conceal 



178 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

the actual receptacle of the mummy, on account of the importance 
they attached to preserving the embalmed body until the return 
of the soul. Staircases, passages, and outer chambers, come between 
the daylight and the innermost hall, which, when reached, must have 
been an astonishment and delight to Belzoni. 

The four pillars, and the whole of the walls, are decorated with 
highly finished sculptures so brightly painted that their colors 
seem like the work of yesterday ; in some places they are in an 
unfinished state, the sculptors not having ye t begun to cut into 
the stone the black outline left by the draughtsman. These pict- 
ures represent the king making offerings to different gods, or 
standing in the presence of various divinities receiving him after 
death. A fine group represents the introduction of the king by 
.Honrs, into the presence of Osiris and Athor. 

No engraving of these sculptured paintings gives a good idea of 
them ; their charm is due to their great size, and the rich colors 
they still retain ; the skin of the figures being of a deep-red tint, 
and the other objects the brightest blue, green, or yellow. 

Mary's letter went on : 

" Saturday : — Donkeys again to Medinet Haboo, part of which was 
built by our old friend Hatasoo ; but the great temple was later, by 
the third Rameses ; the courtyard and pillars are still magnificent. 
We came back through the broad, grassy plain, where stand, or 
rather sit, the great Colossi. I like them the best of every thing we 
have seen.. They sit so comfortably, with their hands on their knees, 
looking forth across the valley. We have seen them constantly, in 
the distance, ever since we have been here ; but were now near 
for the first time. They are enormous, and how impressive their 
long shadows slanting across the plain ! " 

These two gigantic statues both represent Amunoph III. of the 
eighteenth dynasty, a descendant of the Thotmes family, and thus 
grand-nephew, we may say, of Hatasoo. He was a great builder, 
and added many marvels to the Egyptian architecture. These statues 
are the most remarkable of all his works, carved, each of them, out 
of a single block of solid red sandstone. Their height is nearly 



B1BAN-EL-MEL00K. 170 

Sixty-one feet now, and with the tall crowns they used to wear, is 
supposed to have been nearly seventy feet. 

One of them used to be called t lie Vocal Memnon, because it 
emitted a sound as the sun rose ; and people flocked to listen to 
the wonder. But this was no part of its original structure. It is 




THE TWO MEMNONS. 

thought to have been first given forth after the shock of an earth- 
quake, b. c. 27, and to have ceased on the repairing of the image, 
some two hundred years later. The noises may have been the result 



180 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

of the rays of the morning sun upon the air shut up in the 
crevices of the stones. 

These statues, doubtless, stood at the entrance of a temple built 
by Amunoph III., of which hardly any thing remains. Now, there 
comes no sound forth from their grave lips, and the twin giants, 
as they lift their majestic heads against the sky, turning their 
solemn gaze to the east, seem watching in a stern repose over 
the centuries that are dead. 

While the party from the Bent-Auat were looking at these grand 
old creatures, and fancying the ancient splendor of which they were 
a part, an incident occurred which Mary wisely did not put into 
her letter. 

Philip and Augustine, prowling around the base of the Vocal 
Memnon, thought they saw a way up ; it is, in fact, common for 
the Arabs to ascend, in order to reproduce, by striking a stone, 
what they call its music. Like two cats, the boys climbed, Philip 
first, Augustine following, and they soon found themselves standing 
upon the knees of Hatasoo's grand-nephew. A shout of triumph 
drew up to them the attention of the group below, which looked 
diminutive indeed, while to it the two boys appeared like dwarfs 
perched upon the hand of the giant. 

"Take care, Philip!" cried his father, alarmed; and, "Look out, 
Augustine!" cried the other parent; but Hassan laughed, and said: 
"Him all safe. Mast. Philip wise boy." 

The boys were, indeed, not inclined to any rash feat, for the 
height was of a nature to make them giddy in head and steady 
in mind. Augustine sat clown quite meekly on the thumb of Mem- 
non, and wondered about getting clown. Now Ernest, who had 
remained below, no sooner saw their eminence than he wished to 
share it. He ran round behind the statue and began to scramble 
up another way. The two boys leaned over, calling out : 

"Not that side, Ernest! Come round here!" 

Meanwhile Hassan, and one of the guides from below cried: 
" Come down, come down ! wrong place, master ! " 

Confused by so much counter advice, he made a mis step, fell 



XCIEXT SPLENDOR. 



BlliAN-EL-MELOOK. 183 

backwards, and came tumbling to the ground, followed by loose bits 
of stone. Hassan caught him. The other boys made all speed to 
descend by their safer route. 

Ernest stood up, pale, with a scratch on his face, from which 
ran down a little blood. 

"Are you hurt?" cried the anxious father. 

" No, sir," replied he bravely, and stepped forward ; but he found 
at the first movement that his ankle was twisted. 

Luckily, his mother was not there, having remained behind as 
usual. Two Arabs made an easy seat, by which they carried the 
poor boy to the shore in their arms. The little party returned 
saJly through the fields to the boat which awaited them. 

Ernest behaved extremely well, and made no sound, though his 
foot was painful. As Philip walked behind with his father, he 
said : 

14 It is too bad. I have been afraid all along some accident would 
happen." 

" The boys cannot go everywhere that you can, you see, Philip, 
and so you must be a little careful." 

u I am careful!" cried Philip hotly; "and I must say it is 
not fair if I've got to be tied by the leg on account of those 
fellows." 

44 You are quite right ! " exclaimed Mr. Horner, struck by the 
justice of the complaint; "and you have done well, too, Philip.. 
We must try to give you more freedom in the future." 

Touched by his father's kindness, Philip softened at once, and 
hastened to say that he was perfectly willing to 44 boss the boys " 
to any extent. 



184 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER XX. 



PHIL/E. 




ISLAND OF PHIL^E. 



miles beyond Thebes. She was to make no stop of any importance. 
The rest of the temples they wished to see, were to be visited 
coming down the river. This worked well for Ernest, as he was 



PHILJE. 



185 



laid up with his ankle, which, however, was not seriously injured ;. 
bandages of cold water, with proper quiet, reduced the swelling in 
the course of a few days. During this period every one became 
fond of him, he behaved so well, and fretted so little at his 
enforced confinement. Like many active boys who hate to read, he 
found he liked much to listen to reading; and while he amused 
himself in drawing impossible palm-trees, cutting out pictures with 
scissors, Mary and Bessie, by turns, read aloud from books they were 
interested in themselves, and sometimes from such as might espe- 
cially interest him. In this way he and even Augustine became a 
little learned in the battles of Rameses, and had a faint notion of 
the poem of Peutaour. 

Thus the time slipped by swiftly, and not one of the dwellers 
on the Bent-Anat could believe that over two months of Nile-life had 
elapsed before they reached the green island of Elephantine, which 
lies opposite to Assouan. This was the end of their voyage, the 
remainder being to retrace their steps over the same track. 

Assouan is the frontier town of Egypt, which ends here, where 
Nubia begins. Close to it is the First Cataract of the Nile, often 
described in terms that would apply to Niagara, but really nothing- 
more than a series of rapids, where the stream forces an intricate 
passage between black rocks that choke the bed. It looks like 
many a broad, brawling piece of our American rivers. To a 
Penobscot lumberman, accustomed to poling up stream in a birch 
canoe, and shooting down the rapids, the ascent of the First Cat- 
aract would seem but child's play. 

When, the Bcut-Auat arrived at the bank of Assouan, the scene 
on shore was a lively one. Camels were scattered about on the 
sandy floor, laden or unladen ; worn-out hulks of boats, like wrecks 
upon a beach, lay high up in the sand, falling to pieces ; strange 
figures in turbans moved about or squatted in rows on the ground, 
perhaps with something to sell, which they handed out languidly, 
if any one looked in their direction, although they were too 
indifferent to press the bargain. 

The things offered for sale at Assouan are no longer antiquities, 



186 A FAMILY FLIGHT OYER EGYPT AND SYRIA . 

but wonderful things from Nubia; symbols of a rude and barbarous 
race, — ostrich eggs and ostrich feathers, ivory bracelets, gold nose- 
rings. Among them was the complete costume of a Nubian lady, 
which consists merely of a girdle of long fringe cut of narrow 




ASSOUAN. 



strips of leather, the top ornamented with shells and old brass 
buttons. Mary was somewhat inclined to buy one of these as a 
souvenir of Nubia, but Hassan warned her that the thins: was 
soaked in castor oil, to soften and darken the leather, which o- aV e 
it a perfume clear to the wearer, but undesirable in a purchase. 
The Nubians eat castor oil as butter ; the women dress their hair 
and anoint their bodies with it ; it pervades the very air which 
they breathe. 

Among the dahabiehs that lay moored like their own at Assouan, 
were none that they had seen at Luxor. Most of these had pre- 
ceded them on the river, and were by this time beyond the First 
Cataract on their way to the Second. Bessie looked in vain for the 



IHUL.SS. 187 

Syren. It was not to be seen; and Hassan by and by reported 
that it had left the day before, its prow turned homeward. 
'How could we have missed it?" she asked. 

• Perhaps him sail night, " remarked Hassan; " Monday night 
wind good Syren, bad Bent-AnaL" Bessie had .tp console herself 




ON THE BANK AT ASSOUAN. 



with the sights of Assouan, the chief of which is an obelisk, in one 
of the granite quarries, which has never been wholly cut away 
from the rock. It was half-buried in drifted sand. Had it been fin- 
ished, it would have been the largest obelisk in the world, even 
larger than that of Queen Hatasoo at Karnak, which came also from 
Assouan, perhaps from the very same quarry. It can never be 



188 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

known why it was thus left incomplete, nor guessed what royal name 
was to have been its trade-mark. It may be older than Rameses 
the Great, or more modern than Cleopatra. Its secret is safe. 

The great excursion from Assouan is the visit to Phike, a beau- 
tiful island five miles from it. Piles of rocks frame it, as it is 
approached upon the river, with palm-trees, colonnades and pylons, 
rising out of the water. The great temple is inferior, in dimen- 
sions, to the immense ones of Karnak ; but in beauty it is unrivalled. 
It was built in the time of the Ptolemies, long after the glories 
of the house of Rameses had passed away ; it is still in tolerable 
preservation, and retains much of its color. It owes its charm in 
a great measure to its picturesque position on the little island. 

Mary wrote : 

"We went across the river in a little dahabieh ; such yelling of 




CATARACT. 



the native sailors! and as we crossed the river was alive with 
enviable little Nubians floating about on logs, and crying < Back- 



PHIL,®. 



(89 



sheesh ! ' They roll up their simple clothing into a wob> which 
they wear on their heads, and then career about in the stream 
on long dom-palm trunks, ^^^^^^^ggs^-^^ 



a few waves break on the deck, and we swing round at the foot 
of the fall. The sailors dance for joy and seize their long oars 
to pole off the rocks ; it was a wild scene, and a din such as 
you never heard." 

While at Assouan, Bessie succeeded in carrying out her wish to 
mount a camel. 

" I never can go home," she said, " without being able to say 
I have been upon a camel." 

So Hassan conferred with a camel driver, and one of the ungainly 
beasts, be-tasselled and decorated, was brought up to the shore near 
the boat. 

The camel was induced to kneel, and Bessie mounted his back, 
much as she would a donkey ; for the creature was so high, even 
with his legs doubled under him, that she had to step from Hassan's 
knee to the saddle, — if saddle it might be called, — a sort of carpet 
thrown over long poles, and a wooden hump. When she was up, 
the beast began to rise, and to growl at the same time. She felt 
herself going higher and higher, as if he were opening like a jack- 
knife, and it seemed to her as if he had a dozen joints to unbend 
instead of the number that ordinary animals possess. She looked 



which are very corky and 
floating. We passed a 
lovely day at Philae, and 
then came back down the 
Cataract- in a little daha- 
bieh. This is the ereat thine; 
to do : the native sailors 
make a tremendous time 
over it, telling their beads, 
howling, as if they were sure 
to go to the bottom. The 
boat swoops over the foam, 




NUBIANS IN THE NILE. 



190 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

down from her height upon the group of her friends, and cour- 
ageously gave the word to start. 

The long stride of the immense creature swayed her back and 




PORTICO AT PHIL^E. 



forward ; her seat was extremely uncertain ; but she kept a brave 
heart, and with Hassan on one side, and the camel-driver on the 
other, she stalked off into the desert. It was all well enough while 
the animal went slow ; but when her escorts wished to show off 
his paces, it was fearful. She was tossed up high in the saddle, 



VUILKA'. 191 

and could barely hold on with both hands. The cross camel turned 
his long neck and eyed her, as if to say, "You won't stay there 
long, anyhow ! " 

They seemed to be Hying- like the wind, and now the wind took 
her hat ; she put up her hand to grasp it ; the camel (intention- 
ally, Bessie says) made a sudden swerve, and off she came ! 

Fortunately her skirt caught as she fell, so that she touched 
the ground but lightly, The animal instantly stopped. Hassan was 
picking her up, and the whole party were about her immediately, 
for the thing happened at but a short distance from the starting 
point. 

" My child ! my dear Bessie, are you hurt ? " exclaimed Mr. 
Horner, as he bent over her with a pale face. 

She opened her eyes, beheld the great camel standing over her, 
laughed, and said, "Not in the least; only a little stunned." 

" Camel good beast; him never hurt anybody," remarked Hassan 
re-assuringly. 

In fact, Bessi^ was not hurt in the least ; the sand was soft, 




A CROUCHING CAMEL. 

and the pace had not been so swift as it appeared to her in 
her trouble. She took it very cheerfully, and said that now she 
had had quite enough camel. 



192 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

" Bessie," said Philip confidentially, afterwards, " don't you really 
think you were a fool not to hold on?" 

"I just wish you had "been there!" she replied indignantly, 
and walked away. 

And now the Bent-Anat was ready for the return voyage, and 
they bade farewell to Nubia, and turned their faces northward ; 
not without wondering what had become of all the companions 
who had made their party so gay at Thebes. 

Buffers and his steamer went no further than Luxor ; doubtless 
by this time they had reached Cairo, and he might be on his 
w T ay back to Italy, by Brindisi. Several boats had preceded them 
to Assouan, and were hastening on the north wind - through Nubia 
to Aboo-Simbel. But where, where was the Syren ? 




WALL-PICTURE OF A POULTERER'S SHOP. 



EDFOO, 



CHAPTER XXT. 



EDFOO. 



ONG did the Homers remember Edfoo, the most important 



-L' stopping-place on the return, which possesses the monument 
unrivalled as a perfect specimen of an Egyptian Temple. It is 
only since 1864 that it has been accessible; up to that time its 
terraces and walls were covered with the mud-huts of the villagers, 
and the inside filled with rubbish up to the roof. To clear it out, 
was one of the first works of Mariette Bey, a learned French ex- 
plorer, appointed by the late Khedive of Egypt to direct the 
excavations. It was built as late as the time of the Ptolemies, 
and therefore has not the merit of extreme antiquity, but has been 
so preserved, by the very neglect which covered it, as to give the 
best possible idea of the architectural plan upon which all Egyptian 
temples were built. In studying it, the Homers grasped the mean- 
ing of the terms pylor, propylon, etc. ; terms obscured in the other 
temples they had seen, by the ruinous condition into which they 
have fallen. 

The Egyptian temple was not a place of worship like a church, 
but a monument erected by some king in honor of one or more 
divinities to whom he wished to pay homage, either in return for 
benefits conferred, or in hope of future favors. The king himself 
is always the principal subject of the sculptures on the walls. 
The temples were all built on one general plan, which it is easy 
to follow at Edfoo ; viz. : A grand gate of entrance, called a pylcn. 
with pyramidal towers on each side of it, called propylons ; this 
whole front, gate and all, is often spoken of as the propylon. 
This led through rows of sphinxes to a series of halls or sanctu- 




194 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



aries, one behind the other, thus making a long building, narrow, 

in proportion to 
its length. Some- 
times the entrance 
was prolonged by 
several pylons. 
Before the gate- 
ways were obe- 
lisks or statues 
of the king. 

The Bent-Anat 
made good head- 
way on her homeward 
course toward Edfoo, but 
was forced to tie up one 
evening at the bank sev- 
eral hours distant from 
that village, for fear of 
arriving too long after 
dark. The river was now 
falling so much, that it 




Fi<r. 2 is a simple form of a temple, consisting of (b b b) the Dromos of sphinxes, s s s ; three 
propvlons or pylons, a a a; the pronaos or portico, d; and the adytum {sekos) or -sanctuary, e, 
which was either isolated, or occupied the whole of the naos, as in fig. 4. c c are screens, reach- 
ing half way up the columns, as seen in fig. 3. In the adytum {efig. 4,) is an altar,/ W, W, 
the wall of the enclosure. 

Fisr. 1 shows the pyramidial towers (/;), with the pylon {a) between them, and the lines d d 
curving over towards each other, with the colossal figures commonly sculptured on them, h //, 
the colossal figures; g g, the flag-staffs; f, a torus that runs up the wall, and under the cornice; 
r, fillet of the cornice. 



was necessary to exercise caution, to avoid being caught on the 



BDFOO. 196 

sand-banks likely to appear unexpectedly, in the always-changing 
channel of the river, [n fact, the next morning, when, with the 
glass, they were trying to make out some signs of their destina- 
tion in the distance, Philip, looking through it, spied a dahabieh 
stuck fast in the mud of the river about a mile above Edfoo. 

" Do not allow us to get caught that way, Hassan," said Mr. 
Horner; "we have no time to lose on sand-banks. Tell the reVs 
to be very careful." 

The Bent-Anat was so large as to be obliged to keep well out 
in the stream. As they approached, all watched with curiosity the 
stranded boat whose name they were likely to recognize; for the 
craft afloat on the Nile become as well known to each other as 
the names of the inhabitants of a small country town. Little did 
they expect, however, to descry, as they did, the pretty pennon 
and painted title of their consort, the Syren. 

It was about ten o'clock in the morning when they drew near 
the stranded boat. A " sandal," or small boat, was immediately 
launched, and Bessie, with Hassan, was rowed across by two sailors, 
the Bent-Anat keeping still well out in the stream. Edfoo was so 
near that there would be no difficulty for the smaller boat in 
getting back, even if the current bore down the larger one. To 
Bessie's disappointment, she found none of her friends on board. 
She might have thought that they would naturally avail themselves 
of the delay to be set ashore, and fortunate it was for the Fords 
that they were near any thing to fill up the time so impor- 
tant as the temple of Edfoo. She found the sailors were busy 
occupied in preparing to haul the dahabieh out into the current by 
main force, having received directions to be all ready, if possible, to 
start the next morning. Having discovered in very brief time these 
facts, Bessie and her escorts made all haste to regain the Bent-Anat. 

•'Only think," said Bessie, recounting her adventures to the rest, 
as soon as she was on deck again, " the boat was all deserted except 
by that stupid Fanny, the maid they engaged in Alexandria ! She 
talks a dozen languages, and understands none. I do wonder they 
saddled themselves with her." 



196 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

" Mrs. Ford said she was a perfect treasure for washing and ironing," 
said Mrs. Stuyvesant. 

"Just think! " said Bessie, " she is making a regular carouse of it 
now. The saloon is turned into a laundry, and she is drying pocket 
handkerchiefs and napkins all over the deck. I asked her all sorts 
of questions, and she only said ' Don't know ; don't know.' " 

" Did you try her in German ? " asked Mary. 

"No; but I do not believe she knows any German that we know 
any thing about. She says she comes from Try-east." (Trieste). 

" Well, I hope she will not try west," said Philip. 

This conversation went on as the proud Bent-Anat was sweeping 
down to Edfoo ; without mishap, she was moored to the bank, where 
she was the only lodger. It was too early for the Second Cataract 
parties, and too late for most of those who visited only the first, on 
account of the long stoppage our friends had made at various points. 
Only the poor Syren was languishing on the bank above. But Bessie 
and her party esteemed the detention a lucky one, for they owed to 
it a new meeting with the pleasant English family, whom they now 
fully expected to find at the temple. 

Accordingly, they made haste to go ashore. Ernest had altogether 
recovered the use of his foot ; as this was probably the last grand 
expedition of the winter, every one rallied for it, and donkeys were 
once more put in requisition to convey the whole party. The village 
is about half a mile from the river-bank, and the temple in the middle 
of it. Sure enough, they found Miss Mackaye composedly sketching 
the vista of the corridors from the front entrance ; while Mr. and 
Mrs. Ford, guide-book in hand, were making out the meaning of the 
pictured walls. 

Later, in spite of what followed, the Homers looked back upon the 
day at Edfoo as one of the pleasantest of the Nile experience. The 
Professor was full of animation, pointing out the importance of the 
inscriptions, which are of priceless value to the student of Egyptian 
history. The uncovering of this temple was like finding an encyclo- 
paedia containing lists of cities and temples, fasts and feasts, priests 
and priestesses, all throwing light on the manners of the people, 




EDFOO. 



KDKOO. 



199 



and filling gaps in the knowledge previously possessed, of their religious 
beliefs. 

After examining the courts below, they all climbed to the lop of 
the huge propylon, a long pull of over two hundred stone steps built 
into the walls. From the top, they 



looked down 



upon 



the whole village. 



Hundreds of mud huts thatched with 
palm leaves, and with little roofless court- 
yards attached, lay below them, and in 
these little courts they could see every 
thing the people were doing, all dim- 
inished by the distance till they looked 
like brown dwarfs. The women were 
cooking, the children quarrelling, dogs 
basking in the sun, hens scratching and 
pecking. Beyond the village were barley- 
fields and cotton-patches, bounded on one 
side by the river, and on the other by 
the desert ; in the distance, soft and hazy, 
stretched the hills about Thebes. Close 
at hand below them lay the temple ; they 
could look down upon the pavement of 
the court, and across to the pillars of 
the portico. It was almost a bird's-eye 
view, giving the complete plan of the 
structure. 

And thus they spent the whole day 
until they watched the sunset from the 
propylon. The hours flew fast, and they 
lingered long after it grew dark under 
the influence of the soft air and the 
bright starlight. While they were thus 

sitting in groups talking quietly, Philip put his hand on his father's 
arm and said : 

" What is that, father ? See that light ! " Even while he spoke a dim 




FELLAH FATHF^R. 



200 . A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

glow about two miles off, which looked like the premonition of a 
rising moon, burst into a bright glare, from which shot up flames. 
It was perceived almost at the same time, by people below in the 
village i a hubbub instantly arose there ; dogs barked ; the whole 
population turned out towards the river. It was evidently a con- 
flagration of some sort, perhaps a burning boat. Yes ! suddenly 
the conviction burst upon every one that it was, it must be, the 
Syren ! 

All was now haste and confusion. To leave the temple was the 

leading wish. How Philip got down the 
stairs, he little knew; his first desire. was 
to hasten to the spot ; then he reflected 
he must not desert the party. A hurried 
consultation resulted in a division of 'forces ; 
the ladies were all conveyed to the Bent- 
Anat, while with what speed they could 
make, the gentlemen, one after another, sped 
to the scene of conflagration. Before any 
of them could get there, Hassan had ar- 

■ OVniAN GIRL. ° 

rived, and, with the Fords' dragoman, had 
done all he could to save the property on board. Fortunately, not a 
human being was on the Syren at the time it caught fire. All the sail- 
ors, and even the foolish Fanny, had gone to a native fantasia, or 
musical entertainment, in the village. In perfect solitude, unwatched 
by any human being, at the edge of the broad, smooth river, the 
burning boat blazed and crackled, the flames leaping and dancing 
with that devouring, rolling sound which no one who has once 
witnessed a conflagration, can ever forget. 

The fire had gained so much headway that there was nothing to 
be done. The appalled group of spectators on the bank, which 
included the whole village, as well as the persons most interested, 
watched the devouring flames as they burned fiercely to the water's 
edge, then dully and unwillingly yielded to the opposite element, 
and went out, leaving nothing but blackness and ruin. 

The night was perfectly still. The wood and other light material 




EDFOO. 2ui 

of which the boat was made, gave food to the hungry clement 
without obstruction. The devastation was complete. 

Undoubtedly it was in the charcoal-stove, with which Fanny had 
been heating her irons, that the fire originated. But this could 
not be proved, and the poor distracted woman, who lost all her 
own clothes and little effects in the flames, was never accused of 
being the cause. It was so long that the fire had been under 
way before any one reached the spot, that very little was saved. 
Destitute of every thing they had brought with them on the voyage, 
the Fords now stood by the blackened embers of their boat. 



2054 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER XXII. 



LAST NILE DAYS. 



T is needless to say that the hos- 
pitable Bent-Anat gave shelter to 
the unfortunate sufferers of the 
Syren. The native sailors, to be 
sure, drew their pointed hoods on 
their heads and slept anywhere. 
Hassan took care of all their rank 
and file, who made with the other 
sailors at their end of the dahabieh, 
a kind of festivity of the occasion, 
' each reciting his part in the strange 
scene. Little there was to tell of 
great deeds ; for the work of de- 
struction had been as brief as 
thorough. 

At the other end of the boat, 
*^'* Y - hasty couches were made upon 

the divans of the deck, for all the gentlemen, who surrendered their 
cabins to Mrs. Ford and her sister, as well as to Fanny, who 
"took on" more than any one. Her wails and sobs lasted so long, 
that only a sharp reprimand from Mrs. Stuyvesant put an end to 
them. 

"Fanny!" said she, putting her head into the cabin where the 
unfortunate maid was sobbing and groaning on the bed, " I should 
think you would be ashamed to lie whining here when your mis- 
tress is in such grief." 




LAST NILE DAYS. 203 
Silence in that quarter ensued for the night. 

Mrs. Ford was calm and perfectly self-possessed, but her sister, 
whose health was delicate, struggled in vain against the nervous 
excitement so naturally following the catastrophe. The two suf- 
ferers remained together in the double cabin which had readily 
been given up to them ; but sleep refused to visit their pillows. 
Late in the evening, Mary softly asked admission ; she had a 
small tray in her hands, on which was a little tea-pot and cups, 
and entering, she said : 

" Mrs. Ford, do not laugh at my prescription. This is some 
hop-tea which I have made for you. Mamma always carries hops 
with her, in case we are any of us nervous ; and she gave some 
to me to bring. It is very simple, and I am sure it will make 
you sleep." 

The poor worried ladies, docile from fatigue, accepted the not 
unpleasantly bitter draught, and Mary was relieved when she came 
back half an hour later, to find perfect quiet and refreshing 
sleep prevailing in the little cabin. She administered her hop- 
tea all round to those who would take it, with the same results. 

A grand consultation was held on deck the next morning 
among the gentlemen, PJnilip also listening and eager, while Mary 
and Bessie hovered about, in order to offer all sorts of self-sacri- 
fices for the general comfort. Meanwhile, below, Mrs. Stuyvesant, 
where real kindness now came out effectively, was assuring the 
English ladies that she and Emily had brought twice as many 
things as they needed, which Emily abundantly proved by bring- 
ing at once an armful of brushes and toilet articles of all sorts, 
with under-linen and wraps enough to furnish a burnt-out boarding- 
school. 

It was plain that the Bent-Anat could not accommodate all her 
present occuoants for even the shortest time that the return to 
Cairo would occupy. Unfortunately, as has been said, there were 
no other boats then at Eclfoo, the steamers having erone back 
before, and the dahabiehs being on their way up the river toward 
the Second Cataract. But there are now other resources on the 



204 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

Nile ; and our party were prepared to acknowledge that the tele- 
graph and the rail of the nineteenth century, though they may 
mar the harmony of the Egyptian landscape, add, in emergencies 
like this, to the routine of life. From Asyout to Cairo there are 
regularly running trains. It was found that by taking a native 
boat to Luxor, it would be easy to reach Asyout, by a fairly 
made road, either on horseback or camels. 

This idea began by Mr. Horner's saying that it would suit him 
remarkably well to reach Cairo sooner than would be possible in 
the Bent-Anat. Philip looked at his father in amazement. What 
Yankee mosquito had stung his parent, whose one travelling motto 
was, "There is no hurry!" Mr. Ford hastened to add that, he, 
too, as they knew, felt some haste about his arrival there ; for a 
business friend was already, perhaps, awaiting him. 

"Verv well, then." «airl Mr Stnvvp.^nt : "that disposes of two 

of us. There must 
be some way to press 
on to Cairo by land. 
I will stay by the 
ship and look after 
the ladies; and 
Philip, you will help 
me in that arduous 
task," he added. 

But Philip had other 
ideas. His mind was 
early inflamed by the 
idea of riding on a 
camel from Thebes 
to Asyout. He kept quiet for the moment, but afterwards, secur- 
ing his father's private ear, pointed out to him how much 
better it would be for him to go too, and how evident it was 
that his room was better than his company on board the Bent-Anat. 

Thus it was finally arranged, though Mr. Horner and Mr. Ford 
preferred horses to Philip's camel. But he was indulged in his 




LAST NILE DAYS. 205 

wish, and found the motion more agreeable than Bessie did. A 
brown Berber accompanied him, whose English was limited to as 
few expressions as Philip's Arabic. He could say "Good-morning!" 
to which Philip was able to reply, "Taib ketir." Even this did 
not reduce the party enough for perfect comfort, but a suggestion 
of the kind-hearted Madame von Lessli made every thing possible. 




NILE BOAT. 



The Professor was put in Philip's vacant cabin ; Mary and Bessie 
found ample space in the round room at the stern, which had 
been the exclusive domain of the Lesslis', but which the girls 
now shared with madame. This left their double cabin for Airs. 
Ford and her sister. And thus freighted with a company much 
larger than is usual on a Nile boat, the Bent-Anat once more set 
forth down the ri.ver, leaving the two gentlemen and Philip wait- 
ing for a native boat for which Mr. Ford's dragoman, who- was 
engaged to stay with them, was bargaining. 

It was not without misgivings that Mr. Horner left his two little 
girls thus without any natural protector. 



206 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OYER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



"I wish you were coming with us," said Philip to Bessie; "but 



"Not much!" replied Bessie. "It is horrid to part with you, 
Phil, but I mean to stick to the Professor. There are several 
things I have not found out yet." 

The boys clamored to be allowed to go with their friend Philip ; 
but he did not show the same ardor for their companionship, and 
Mr. Stuyvesant stopped all discussion at once by a decided negative. 

Bessie did stick to the Professor, and these two, whenever there 
was a chance, stole an excursion to a ruin or a quarry which the 



Rising Sun ; and the wicked Set, who murdered his brother the 
great Osiris, by a' deed which was afterwards avenged by 
Horus, the son of the latter. Yet Set had his worshippers, 
who called him the lord of the world ; the great " ruler of 
heaven." He is represented with a human figure, but a strange, 
monstrous head, half-way between a bird and a quadruped, with 
square ears, a bill like a stork, and a wig. 

Turn is the type of the setting sun, as it rests upon the western 
horizon. His ordinary color is red, but he is sometimes painted green. 
Bessie's personal favorite among these divinities, was the cat-headed 
goddess Pasht. 



I suppose you would not care to take to a camel again." 




FORMS OF SET. 



others saw not. He was 
already delighted when his 
young pupil could read for 
herself the most familiar sym- 
bols upon the sculptured walls, 
like the teas, or sceptre, and 
the ankk, or sign of life, 
which are represented in the 
hands of the gods, and always 
imply godlike attributes. She 
soon knew how to recognize 
the different gods as they are 
represented : Horus, the hawk- 
headed, as the youthful or 



The BentrAncU was 
and might on a certain 
The pyramids were in 



LAST NILE DAYS. 

rapidly drawing near the 
day be expected to reach 
sight. A telegram from 



207 

end of her course, 
Cairo before sunset, 
the nearest station 




GROUP OF FELLAHIN. 



had been forwarded to this effect to Shepheard's Hotel ; and the 
party who had been enjoying for four months the life of the Nile, 
were assembled for their last morning, with the added members of 
the party, upon the pleasant deck. The tables had somewhat a swept 
and garnished air, for the little trifles belonging to each had already 



208 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



been packed ; but nothing could take away the air of cosiness and 
comfort which was now associated with the spot where they had 
passed so many happy hours. 

" Bessie, what are you thinking about ? " asked Emily Stuyvesant, 





1JAMESES II 



' Colonel Leigh's 



CLEOPATIIA. 



after she had 
watched Bessie's 
absorbed attitude 
a few moments. 

" I was think- 
ing over my dy- 
nasties," replied Bessie very simply. 

" Do you remember," said Mary, 
advice to you about them ? " 

" Oh dear, yes ! " replied Bessie, 
well I have got them now in my head, though I am only quite sure 
of a few, and there are many that I know nothing about. But these 
dates I know ; that is, in a general way, for there are several differ- 
ent systems. This is Mariette's : 

Khuf u, the Pyramid Man ; fourth dynasty. 
Osirtasen I., at Beni-Hassan. 

Thotmes and Hatasoo, and the rest of the eighteenth 



I wish he could know how 



Rameses the Second, and his relatives of the nine- 



B. C. 4000 

B. C. 3000 

B. C. 1700 
dynasty. 

B. C. 1400. 
teenth dynasty. 

B. C. 1 00b. Her-Hor, the Priest-king, whose family sepulchre 
has been just found, and Queen Notem-Maut, of the twenty-first 
dynasty, after which I know nothing much till b. c. 30, Cleopatra ; 
thirty-fourth dynasty." 



LAST NILE DAYS. 209 

« 

She was saying these things over to herself, without expecting' the 
others to listen; but Emily said, "They look so much alike on 
the walls, I do not see how you can help getting them all mixed 
up, gods and kings, and all that." 

Bessie threw her a glance of silent contempt, and walked away. 




ONE OF CLEOPATRA'S NKEDLES. 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

A SURPRISE. 

SO one beautiful afternoon early in March, Philip and his father 
were waiting at Boulak for the arrival of the Bent-Anat> 
whose huge sail they had long been watching in the distance. 
Thanks to Philip's fleet and soft-footed camel, and the more mod- 
ern and fleeter slave of the nineteenth century, the steam-engine, 




ARABS. 



they had already been more than a week in Cairo. Mr. Horner 
walked about with restless energy ; as for Philip, he was in the 
highest excitement. 

" Here she comes at last ! hurrah ! hurrah ! " he cried. Their 
excitement was in strange contrast to the indifference of the Arabs 
squatting about. Their friends on the dahabieh were crowding to 



SELLING BREAD. OFFERING WATER TO TRAVELLERS. 

BEDOUIN GIRLS. 



A SURPRISE. 213 

the edge, waving their handkerchiefs in greeting. As the boat 
came close to the shore, a carriage drove up, from which sprang 
Mr. Ford, who demanded, " Not too late ? " 
" No ; they are just arrived!" cried Philip. 

Great was the rejoicing at this safe and happy meeting ; but 
Philip did not even yet seem satisfied. 

" Hurry, hurry, girls!" he said. "Never mind your traps! Has- 
san will take care of them. Come along to the carriage ! " 

" But we must say good-by to Madame von Lessli." 

"No matter for her. You'll see her later." 

Ernest and Augustine were clinging to Philip in their joy at 
seeing him again, but he scarcely took any notice of them. In a 
very short time the Homers were whirled away from all their late 
companions, on the road to Cairo. 

" And now, surprise one" said Philip. " May I tell, papa ? " 

His father nodded. 

"We are not going back to Shepheard's. We have taken a little 
apartment on the other side of the Esbekiah." 

"How jolly! how splendid!" exclaimed the girls. "But what is 
surprise two ? " 

" Well," said Philip, " you will see somebody there you will like 
to see very much." 

"Mr. Her — !" exclaimed Bessie, jumping at this conclusion on 
account of the letter in his handwriting, which Philip had seen at 
Luxor. 

But Mr. Horner, laughing, interrupted her, and said : 

" We have promised not to answer any questions or guesses ; so 

let us change the conversation." 

"Yes," said Philip. "We will talk about the camel. Bessie, 

which do you like best, that front and backward motion, or the up 

and down ? " 

" I like least the sideways motion," she replied ; "for that was 
what pitched me off ; but, oh dear, how slow these horses are ! " 

She leaned forward and said a few Arabic words she had picked 
up, to the driver, at which he grinned and cracked his whin 



214 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

Soon the carriage was whirling over the road at a rate which made 
the dust- fly. They drew up before a small hotel, close upon the 
street, facing the Esbekiah garden. There was a little balcony over 
the front door, and in that balcony, oh ! could they believe it ? 
they saw, — 

Mary and Bessie sprang out, they knew not how. In a moment 
they were folded in the arms of their dear mother, and, — yes, it 
was she, — Miss Augusta Lejeune ; while Tommy himself, the veri- 
table boy, yelled, turned somersets, and climbed all over his father, 
who stood, with Philip, watching the success of surprise number two. 

Much was to be explained ; but first they withdrew into their 




DISTANT MOSQUES. 



apartment, where the girls looked round with delight. A little 
salon, prettily furnished in French style, with light chintz, mir- 
rors and gilt ornaments, even the inevitable clock and candle- 
sticks on the mantelpiece, opening by broad windows upon a charm- 
'ng balcony. Doors on either side led to sleeping rooms, and 



A SURPRISE. 217 

above, they were assured, were equally pleasant ones to accom- 
modate their whole party. 

" How nice ! we are only ourselves now, without any outsiders ! " 
exclaimed Mary, looking round at the dear faces ; at Miss Lejeune, 
who, bright and animated, already seemed to take back her impor- 
tant place in the party ; at Mrs. Horner, whose eyes kept filling 
with tears as she looked once more upon her children, and at 
Tommy, who had assumed a new air of dignity and importance. 

"Why, Tommy!" she exclaimed, "how much bigger you are 
than the Stuyvesant boys ! " 

" I always was," replied Tommy proudly. " Mr. Hervey says " — 

" Mr. Hervey ! " exclaimed the new- 
comers. Philip had grasped Tommy's 
head in both hands to stop the word, 
but it was too late ; no matter, for at 
the same moment, steps were heard 
running lightly u.p the stairs, and Mr. 
Hervey entered. 

"Am I too late?" he exclaimed. 
" I was detained by Mr. Ford. Yes ! 
they are here, Mary! Bessie!" 

"The very thing I was wishing!" 
cried Bessie ; " for now our own 
dear party is really complete!" 

" Explain ! explain ! " said Mary ; " is 
this the Arabian Nights ? have you a 
travelling carpet, or am I dreaming?" 

" Let us come and dine," said 
explanations." 

These apartments were in a small hotel kept by a Frenchman, him- 
self an unrivalled maitre de cuisine. As they discussed his excellent 
menu, all was explained, as follows : When uncle Horatio announced 
his attention of settling in Keene for the rest of the winter, Mrs. 
Horner felt that her occupation was gone, especially as her mother's 




THE JOLLY LANDLORD. 



Mrs. Horner, " and postpone 



218 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

health was remarkably restored. She wrote thus to Miss Lejeune, 
who was thoroughly vexed that the Horatio Seatons should have made 
up their minds so late that the Homers' winter was completely broken 
up. She seated herself at once to answer the letter, expressing 
these sentiments. 

"I wish," she added, "that we had not been in such a hurry; 
for after all, I could have gone myself perfectly well. My shares 
have gone up, and there is plenty of money, but, 

" ' Too late, too late, we cannot enter now!' " 

Miss Lejeune sent off the letter, and was brooding over the sit- 
uation and her little fire, one evening at dusk, when she was 
surprised by the entrance of Mr Hervey. 

"How delightful!" she said; "what brings you to New York?" 

"An idea!" replied Mr. Hervey, "and the wish that you should 
lend yourself to it. Ford, the man I went to London to see, is 
in Egypt. The affairs that we manage in common have become 
complicated, and it is quite desirable that I should talk them over 
with him. Nothing would suit me better than to make ra run to 
Cairo, where he is to be in a month or so. Now it occurs to me " — 

" Of course, it occurs to you, and to me also, that you will 
take Mrs. Horner and Tommy with you. It is a shame that they 
were left behind! Where is my letter? It is just gone. We 
will write another." 

"Yes, another, saying that if they will go, you will too." 

Miss Lejeune, paused as she stood before her davenport, pen in 
hand ; she smiled. 

"I did not think of that," she said, then looked down, hesitated, 
then directly added, "but I will, of course." 

The letter was sent ; what was more, Mr. Hervey thought it 
best to go to Keene himself, to add personal persuasion. The 
result was the happy meeting lately described. 

The little party took a steamer for Gibraltar, and while there 
actually slipped over to Morocco for a day or two. 



A SURPRISE. 219 

"We wished to be even with the rest of you," said Miss Lejeune, 
"so that when you talk of ancient temples, we can respond with 




GIBRALTAR, 

our Moorish Court. We longed to see more of Spain, however. 
Only think of being within three hours of the Alhambra ! " 

"And then you came across the Mediterranean direct?" asked 
Mary. 

« Yes ; we waited, you see, for the P. and O. steamer from 
Southampton." 

"And so that really was a letter from Mr. Hervey, that Philip 
gave to Mr. Ford." 

"Yes!" cried Philip; "and papa had a letter from him too, and 
from mamma, and that was what made him so jolly." 

" How mean, mamma, to conceal it from us ! " said Bessie, taking 
her hand as she spoke, for she was sitting next her. 

" I know it, my dear, and I had many misgivings ; for you know I 
hate surprises. But Mr. Hervey was bent on keeping up the 
mystery, and he and Tommy made us promise." 



220 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

" Oh ! " said Tommy, who was now pulling off the peel of his 
third mandarin orange, " it was half the fun to have a secret. 
I was in such a hurry to get here, though ! " 

u How long have you been here?" said Mary; "I cannot seem 
to understand it." 

"About two weeks," replied Miss Lejeune; "and we have already 
been sight-seeing. What did you see in Cairo before you left ? " 

"The pyramids," remarked Bessie. 

She glanced at Philip, to see whether he wished to dilate upon 




MOORISH COURT. 



that experience. Mary looked up at him also ; then they all 
shouted with laughter. 

" Is the pyramids a joke ? " asked Tommy ; " we have not been 

there yet." 

"Yes; it is a sort of circus, Tommy," replied Phil, "for little boys 



A SURPRISE. 221 

like you and the Stuyvesants ; but we will tell you about that 
another time." 

" I want to see Mr. Stuyvesant, worst kind," said Tommy. 
"Did he know they were coming?" asked Mary of Phil. 
"I will tell you about that," Philip replied; "papa kept the secret 
to himself until the Syren was burnt" — 

"Wasn't that dreadful, mamma!" cried the girls. 
"My dear!" interpolated Miss Lejeune. 

"Then when we had that conference," he continued, "it all came 
out that Mr. Ford wanted to see Mr. Hervey, and so papa told me 
it really was our Mr. Hervey, and that you were all to be here on 
the tenth of February. I thought I should jump out of my skin, 
and I convinced papa that if he did not bring me, I should have 
to let the cat out of the bag." 

"On the whole," said Bessie, "I am glad we did not know; we 
should have been so impatient." 

And she hugged her mother again. 

"But where is papa?" 

"He went back to Shepheard's," said Mr. Hervey; "I saw him 
there." 



222 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 

CAIRO AGAIN. 

THE happy Homers, restored to each other, and their party 
reduced to its original limits, found so much to talk about 
that they hardly cared to step outside their pleasant salon ; Mary 
and Bessie, after the contracted quarters of the Bent-Anat, found 
their large and convenient room very agreeable. But their thoughts 
were constantly reverting to their Nile trip, and to the kind 
friends with whom it was made, and with whom they had become 
so intimate. The rest^ of the Bent-Anat people were all at Shep- 
heard's, but the two parties met constantly, and combined to make 
expeditions to see the wonders of Cairo. 

A large delegation visited together the citadel, whence the Nile 
travellers looked wistfully along the green belt which marks the 
course of the river. 

"Whoever has tasted the water of the Nile, will return again 
to drink of it," says the Oriental proverb ; and they were already 
homesick for the dahabieh. 

There they were shown the spot of the fatal leap of the last 
of the Mamelukes. 

The Mamelukes were a body of soldiery who ruled Egypt for 
several centuries. They were introduced into the country by a 
certain Sultan, to be his bodyguard, in the thirteenth century, a 
set of Asiatic captives purchased from the wild chief Genghis Khan. 
They rose to such power as to control the whole country and 
choose their own commanders from among themselves; and, strange 
to say, this sort of rule lasted until the beginning of the six- 
teenth century. 



CAIRO AGAIN. 223 

It was this long line of Mameluke Sultans who adorned Cairo 
with beautiful mosques, and under their rule, literature and art 
flourished. 

When Egypt became a province of the Ottoman Empire, an at- 




EL KAIT BEY. 



tempt was made to conciliate the Mamelukes, and twenty-four of 
their chiefs, or beys, were appointed governors of provinces ; but 
they were always quarrelling among themselves, and with every one 
else. Napoleon defeated sixty thousand of them at the battle of 
the Pyramids ; but at the end of the French occupation, Mahomet Ali, 



224 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

who now came upon the scene, found them still ripe for revolt. There 
was a constant struggle between him and them for supremacy, 
amounting to civil war. Treacherous massacres, horrible butchery, 
ensued. Finally, by professions of friendship, Mahomet Ali beguiled 
four hundred and seventy of the chiefs into the citadel, and then 
closed the gates, and ordered his soldiers to fire upon them. Very 
few escaped. One is said to have leaped his horse from the high 
ramparts, where the place is still shown, and to have alighted un- 
injured, though the horse was killed by the fall. He fled, and 
made his way to Syria. This attack was the signal for an indis- 
criminate slaughter of the Mamelukes throughout Egypt ; and thus 
the last of them were destroyed, and Mahomet Ali's power secured. 
The treachery and cruelty thus practised upon them, excites a sort 

of sympathy for the 
beys, not, however, jus- 
tified by their own 
ferocious characters. 

The citadel was built 
by Saladin, in the 
twelfth century. It is 
in itself a small town, 
and contains many ob- 
jects worth seeing; 
but the mosque of 
Mahomet Ali has not 
the pure Oriental char- 
acter of the older 
mosques of Cairo ; we 
must regret the old 
palace of Saladin, which 
was pulled down in 1829, to make room for it, and which con- 
tained a hall supported upon columns of rose granite. From the 
platform outside the mosque is a grand view of the city. 

The mosque of the Sultan Hassan, in front of the citadel, is 
the finest in Cairo ; this, and several other ruined mosques, form 




CAIRO AGAIN. 225 

the chief monuments of artistic interest within the walls, as beau- 
tiful specimens of Arab architecture. 

The fundamental idea of a mosque is always an open court sur- 




CALL, TO rEAYEE. 



rounded by a carved cloister with double rows of columns support- 
ing pointed arches, or else vaulted roofs. One of these cloisters, 
deeper than the rest, is the sanctuary, with a raised floor, where 
the worshippers of Mahomet prostrate themselves at Friday 
prayers, with their faces turned toward the Mihrab (niche) in the 
centre of the east wall, framed with rich carving and inscriptions. 
This marks the direction of Mecca, the sacred city of their religion. 



226 A FAMILY FLIGHT OYER EGYPT AND SYEIA. 

Near it is a pulpit, and the platform where the Koran is read 
aloud. Often the tomb of the founder is near the sanctuary, with 
a dome over it ; minarets rise from the corners of the cloister, or 
elsewhere : these are slender towers with balconies, and a winding 
staircase inside, by which the priest mounts to chant the famous 
muezzin call to prayer. 

Inside the mosques are beautiful horseshoe, or painted arches; a 
frieze of Kufic letters ; some verse out of the Koran runs over 
them. Colored glass gives a dim light that is very beautiful, and 

at night colored lamps hang from 
the ceiling. 

Mr. Hervey, Miss Lejeune, 
and Mary, were the members of 
our party who most faithfully 
studied the mosques, led to it 
by their devotion to art and 
architecture. The minaret and 
dome of the mosque of Kait Bey, 
the nineteenth Sultan of the 
Mamelukes, who is buried there, 
are very elegant and graceful. 

Bessie and her Professor spent 
hours in the Museum of Anti- 
quities, at Boulak, now especially 
interesting for its recent ac- 
cessions. There can be no doubt 
that the vault in which these 
various mummies and funereal 
treasures were found, was the 
family sepulchre of the priest- 
kings of the twenty-first dynasty. 
This dynasty was founded by 
Her-Hor, high-priest of Ammon, 
of the Great Temple of Ammon, at Thebes, who, towards the close 
of the twentieth dynasty, at a time the throne of the last Rames- 




CAIRO AGAIN. 227 

sides was tottering to its foundations, either inherited the crown by 
right of descent, or seized it by force. According to some authori- 
ties, Queen Notem-Maut was a princess of the Rameses blood, and 
mother of Her-Hor ; according to others, she was his wife. In any 
case, her name is always surrounded by the oval, or cartouche, which 
is the emblem of royalty ; whereas, it was not till he had reigned 
more than five years, that Her-Hor ventured to assume this distinction. 

Meanwhile, Tommy, with his old friend Mr. Stuyvesant, and some- 
times joined by Philip and the two Stuyvesant boys, went the round 
of the amusements of the place. They saw the dancing dervishes 
whirling about in their mad religious dance, accompanied by hideous 
music ; the street jugglers, and other amusing Eastern sights. 

A long and interesting day was passed at the Pyramids ; more 
successful than the hurried excursion with which the winter began. 
This was considered the final picnic before the little circle of 
Nile voyagers should break up ; and some on donkeys, some in 
carriages, all assembled at the foot of the Grand Pyramid. Mr. 
and Mrs. Ford, with her sister, were there. They had decided 
to stay in Cairo for a while, to test the benefit of the climate. 
Mrs. Stuyvesant and Emily came, — kind Mrs Stuyvesant, full 
of praise of the Horner children, which she poured into the ears 
of their gratified mamma, — Miss Emily, confessing that though the 
Nile trip was amusing, she thought there was rather too much of it, 
and looking forward with pleasure to fresh dresses and a summer at 
Baden. Madame von Lessli was there, much pleased to meet 
again Miss Lejeune, whom she had first seen in Switzerland. 

" Ah, my dear friend," she said in German, "I have been so 
happy that my man has at last his fill of Egypt. Now will we 
go back to our household. I shall be glad to have done once 
more with wandering." 

Mr. Stuyvesant and Philip climbed to the top of the pyramid ; 
Ernest and Augustine omitted the ceremony this time, but all 
the boys went in and round and through the inner passages, and 
saw all that was to be seen of this greatest of monuments. 

The second pyramid, that of Khafra, is a little smaller than the first, 




228 A FAMILY FLIGHT OYER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

but remarkable for having kept some of the original casing at the 
top; and the third, which is less than half as big as the 

others, is still partly 

encased with polished 
red .granite, which 
gives it the name of 
the Red Pyramid. 

The approach to 
this platform of pyra- 
mids was formerly 
guarded by the 
Sphinx, who still sits 
there, the symbol of 
Horus in the horizon ; 
it is an immense 
m a n-h e a d e d lion, 

MOSQUE OF HASSAN. 

cut out of a project- 
ing rock, whose original form may have suggested this shape. There is 
a sanctuary between its forepaws, believed to be older than the Great 
Pyramid. It is in great part buried in the sand, but its enor- 
mous head and shoulders, in spite of the mutilation of the face, 
have a strangely impressive aspect. 

Not far from the Sphinx, indeed, in its very shadow, Hassan, who 
was still retained by the Bent-Anat party, spread and superintended 
their last picnic lunch together. It was gay, and yet a little sad, 
for the party was so soon to be broken up. 

Mrs. Horner and Miss Lejeune professed to find themselves "out 
in the cold," when they failed to understand the allusions to things 
which had occurred on the Nile ; but their very ignorance gave a 
fine opportunity for the others to fight their battles o'er again ; and, 
all talking at once, they attempted to inform these fresh minds with 
the whole of Egyptian mythology and history, as well as with 
the amusing incidents of the trip. 

After lunch, as usual, the party broke up into little groups. Plans 
were talked over, and different routes discussed. As Mrs. Stuyvesant 



CAIRO AGAIN. 229 

and Emily were tired of the East, that family meant to return to 
Europe after a short stay in Cairo. Tommy teased Mr. Stuyvesant 
to come with them into Palestine ; for the Homers, with a new 
lease of life, made by the addition to their party, or rather by 
its restoration to its old proportions, now looked forward joyfully 
to a short excursion through the Holy Land. Mr. Horner had 
engaged Hassan to be their dragoman in the expedition, and 
Hassan was already busy about tents and such matters. 

"Oh, do go with us, Mr. Stuyvesant!" said Tommy. 

"Impossible, my boy!" replied that gentleman. "You would not 
come up the Nile with me, and now I must refuse you. But, 
Horner," he added, " I think I will take my boys as far as Port 
Said, when you go. They will like to see the Canal." 

This was joyfully received. Philip was really getting so fond of 
his satellites, that he was sorry to part with them. The ladies 
were perfectly willing to be left at Shepheard's. 

As the day drew to a close, and they were thinking of the 
return to Cairo, a tall figure with a long shadow accompanying it 
over the sand, was seen coming up to them almost running. 

It was Buffers. " I just heard from some of your people that 
you were here, Miss Mary. When did you return from the 
river ? ' ' 

"And you," she said, "how long have you been here?" 
" Oh ! our steamer arrived some weeks ago. I have been down 
to Damietta, on the Eastern branch of the Nile." 
"Mamma, you remember Mr. Buffers," said Mary. 
" Why, Mrs. Horner ! " exclaimed that amazed youth. 



230 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER XXV. 



THE CANAL. 




T 



ing 

her 



HE day of departure arrived, and after 
affectionate farewells to all their 
friends in Cairo, the Horner party drove 
to the station, bound for Suez. As usual, 
the station-master waved them to their 
places, and the stolid policeman watched 
over their baggage. The sailors of the Bent- 
Anaty and two or three of those belonging to 
the unfortunate Syren, who had turned up 
at Cairo, stood about the door of the hotel, 
and shook hands all round, a liberal back- 
sheesh to each having heightened their 
natural emotions at parting with such kind 
employers. The little Ali showed much 
grief ; Mary and Bessie had given him 
some picture-books, and other trifles, and 
Tommy pressed into his hands, at the 
last moment, a Japanese kite which he 
had brought all the way from New York, 
but found inconvenient in re-packing his 
trunk. 

After all, Mr. Stuyvesant and the boys did 
not accompany the Horners to Port Said. 
Miss Emily had caught a heavy cold on leav- 
the dahabieh for the hotel, and her father did not like to leave 
mother alone with her. He went to the station and saw them off. 



STATION MASTER. 



THE CANAL, 



2.31 



" Dear Mr. Stuyvesant," said Mary, " we owe the whole journey 
to you ; for if you had not put papa 
up to it, we should not have come this 
year, if ever ! " 

"Well, we have had a pretty good 
winter, have we not?" said he. 

"Yes! yes!" exclaimed all. The train 
shrieked, and rolled out of the station. 

" How long it is since we have done 
any railway ! " exclaimed Mary. 

" Only you and I, Mary," replied 
Bessie ; " for the rest have had more 

of it." 

"And here 
we are again, 
just our snug 
old party ! " said 
Tommy, " Mr. 
Hervey and all." 

It was really 
very wonderful. 
There was so 
much talking to 
do, picking up 
episodes that 
had not been de- 
scribed, that they let the scenery outside the 
windows slip by almost unnoticed ; but it was 
not especially interesting in that part of the 
country, and seemed commonplace to those 
who had been up the Nile. But to the others, 
the strange figures they saw were a new and 
unfailing source of amusement, — after the river. They passed the ruins 
of Bubastis, where the cat-headed goddess Pasht once had her temple ; 
they paused at the modern flourishing town of Zagazig, where a 





POLICEMAN. 



THE TICKET-TAKER. 



232 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

market was going on, and the " rag-bags" were thronging the place; 
a sight with which they were now familiar. 

They went directly to Suez, in order to traverse the full extent 
of the Suez Canal from one end to the other, but did not make 
a long stay there; there was, however, time for Mr. Hervey the 
energetic, with Mary and Tommy, to make a short trip to "Ain 




KED SEA. 



Moosa," a sort of picnic place, associated by tradition with the 
crossing of the Red Sea by the Israelites, though with no good 
authority. 

The Homers returned in a steamer to Ismailia, a modern town 
which owes its existence to the Suez Canal; a day was sufficient 
for a glimpse at its mushroom growth, and then they took a boat to 
Port Said, on the Mediterranean, at the upper end of the wonder- 
ful Canal which has altered the geography of two continents. 

The length of the Canal is one hundred miles, its depth twenty-six 
feet, and its width from seventy to three hundred feet. It is a series 
of cuttings, to connect natural bodies of water which were found on 
its route, the Bitter Lakes, Lake Timsah and Lake Mensaleh. It 



THE CANAL. 235 

was built at immense cost* by the Suez Canal Company, under the 
direction of the celebrated French engineer, M. de Lesseps ; with 
the material aid of Said Pacha, it was begun in 1839, by the forced 




AT ZAGAZIG. 

labor of thousands of Egyptian fellahin; but their place was sup- 
plied afterwards by a variety of ingenious machines, by which all 
difficulties were overcome. The Canal was opened with Oriental 
rejoicings, and in the presence of guests from all parts of the world, 
in 1869. Since that time it has proved itself an entire success, 



236 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



the receipts being nearly double the working expenses of the Canal. 

Port Said is chiefly interesting for its breakwaters, more than a 
mile and a half long, which enclose a harbor from which they are 
intended to keep out the drifting sand ; constant dredging is 
needed to preserve the required depth, however. 

The gentlemen were more interested in the constructions con- 




FELEAHIN AT WORK ON THE CANAL. 



nected with the Canal, than were the ladies, who did little sight-seeing 
at Port Sai'd, but stayed quietly at the hotel. An Austrian 
Lloyd steamer, eighteen hours from Alexandria, which called at 
Port Said with Hassan on board, and the same excellent French 
cook who had provided such good dinners on the Nile, took them 
up, also, and they were now on their way to Jaffa. This was 
a smaller steamer than any they had been on since their summer 
trips on the Lakes of Switzerland ; but unlike any of them, it was 
built for rough sea weather, which they were told they might well 
expect before reaching Jaffa the next morning. Nevertheless, with 



THE CANAL. 



237 



stout hearts they established themselves comfortably on deck, and 
watched the receding shores of Africa. 

" Perhaps that is the last we shall ever see of that country," 
remarked Bessie, " and now we are coming to Asia." 

"Europe, Asia, and Africa," repeated Tommy; "what immense 
travellers we are ! " 

" Bessie," said her father, pinching her cheek, " has fairly done 
her duty by the Egyptians. She knows more than any of us." 

"I am afraid," said Mrs. Horner, "that they have been too 
much for her. She looks pale, and I think she has Rameses still 
on her mind." 

"It is not Rameses, mamma, so much as the Ptolemies," replied 
Bessie simply. 

" Oh, stop that, now ! " exclaimed Philip ; " Bessie, you are grow- 
ing perfectly tiresome ; you are just like a child in a book ! " 

Bessie looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, then laughed, 
shook herself, and said, " I believe I am, or like Alice in Wonder- 
land, — only somebody in the Queen's dream. I will stop it at once, 
Philip, and come out." 

"Bessie is a dear, good-natured child!" exclaimed Miss Lejeune ; 
and so she was, and wholly unaffected in her fondness for finding 
out things. Her interest in the Egyptian dynasties was as natural 
as collecting postage-stamps is to some chil- 
dren ; in fact, Bessie had already been through 
that fever. 

Familiar now with the leading ancient dynasties 
of Egypt, she wished to fit into a harmonious 
line of sequence the other scattered facts she 
knew. A little more study made clear the con- 
quest of Egypt by Alexander the Great, b. c. 332, and the era of 
Greek rule in Egypt. After the defeat of Antony and Cleopatra, 
b. c. 30., it became a Roman province. 

The visit of Adrian, the Roman emperor, is pleasantly described 
in Eber's novel, dcr Kaiser ; this occurred in 122 a. d. Five hun- 
dred years later the country fell into the hands of despots. Sala- 




238 A FAMILY FLIGHT OYER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

din built the citadel in 1160; then followed the Mameluke Sultans, 
and so on to the time when Mahomet Ali made himself the 
strong power. Egypt reached its lowest point under Ismail, when 
it was so in debt that foreign powers had to take its finances in 
hand. From that depth it is now rising, it may be to heights of 
grandeur like the periods of its old fame. 

The long episode of Cleopatra's career forms a part of Egyptian 
history as well as of that of Rome. This wonderful woman had the 
skill to subdue, by her personal charms, both Julius Caesar and Mark 
Antony, and thus to hold in her own hands the rule of Egypt. Her 
life was a series of pleasures and crimes, ending in a tragedy. She 
was thirty-nine years old when she died, having reigned twenty- 
two years, during which she may be said to have been the cause, 
either direct or indirect, of disgrace and death to all who fell under 
the influence of her attractions. 

"A perfectly hateful, horrid old woman!" cried Bessie. 

"She must have been very fascinating, Bessie," said Mr. Hervey; 
" if she were alive now, perhaps she would invite us to a feast on her 
barge, like that dinner she gave to Antony and his generals, when 
she drank a pearl dissolved in vinegar." 

"I should not wish to dine with a person who killed her own 
brother, and had her sister murdered," repeated Bessie. 

" But you must remember how delightful she was," continued 
Mr. Hervey, to tease her ; " she was not an old woman either, 
only thirty-nine when she died; she devoted all her beauty and 
sweetness and gayety to turning the heads of her lovers. She 
was full of wit, and she could speak and understand Greek, 
Egyptian, Ethiopic, Troglodytic, Hebrew, Arabic, and Syriac." 

"I don't care," said Bessie, half-smiling, " if she had also 
talked Italian, Spanish, German, and American, which I suppose 
she did not, as they were not invented, I should still have hated 
her." 

" Well, perhaps you are right," said Mr. Hervey, giving up the 
argument " We will consider it settled that she was a horrid 
old woman ; that is, if you will agree to read Shakespeare's 



THE CANAL. 



230 



Antony and Cleopatra as soon as you come within reach of it." 

The Pluto was a- pretty little steamer, crowded with a motley 
mass of pilgrims of the Greek Church, on their way to Jerusalem, 
oddly dressed in all manner of colors. 

At night the ladies and the two girls, Mary and Bessie, were 
all crowded into one large cabin, which had berths enough and to 
spare, but very little room. However, the weather was lovely, the 
sea as smooth as glass, in spite of all predictions to the contrary, 
and the table excellent. 

About ten in the morning they approached the shores of another 
continent. Asia offers at Jaffa a rough reception, for the only 
excuse for a harbor is a row of sharp low rocks, like the 
well-worn teeth of some monster. The party, with their effects, 
were separated from each other and put into little boats, • which, guided 
by skilful Arab oarsmen, bobbed and danced upon the waves, watch- 
ing a chance to slip between the ugly low rocks. It seemed hope- 
less, but they all found themselves safe upon the pier. 

"See the storks!" exclaimed Tommy, as they were sailing away 
from Port Said. "They are flying North." 



240 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

PALESTINE. 

JAFFA, the ancient Joppa, is called by tradition the most ancient 
town in the world. It was at this port that the cedar and pine 
from Lebanon were landed for the building of Solomon's temple. 
Jonah embarked from Joppa; Peter the apostle, lived in the house 
of Simon the tanner, which is still pointed out, and from its flat roof 
there is a lovely view of the surrounding country and the Medi- 
terranean. It is now a dirty Eastern town, with narrow, crooked 
streets going up and down hill. 

A rabble of natives beset the newly-arrived travellers ; but Hassan 
piloted them through the crowd, and to the hotel, where, however, 
they were to make no stay ; for a troop of horses, mules, and donkeys, 
was already before the door, awaiting their pleasure, which was to 
push on at once towards Jerusalem. 

As yet no railroad spoils the romance, or promotes the ease, of 
travelling in Syria. It must all be done on horseback ; the baggage 
transported on mules or donkeys, and, as inns are rare, tents must 
be the shelter for many a night. One plan, and the most usual, is 
to start with the tents at Jaffa, and encamp continuously through 
the whole trip, which is, of course, longer or shorter, according to 
the decision of the tourist. The grand tour includes the whole of 
Galilee, with all the points of interest connected with the life of our 
Saviour, from Jerusalem through Galilee to Damascus. 

It is, however, possible to see a great many interesting places in 
less time than is required for this long and costly excursion ; the 
more moderate plan also recommends itself as less fatiguing and 
less exposed for ladies. This had been decided upon, therefore, in 



PALESTINE. 241 

the beginning, according to the usual standard of the Homers , of 
not to overdo any undertaking. 

Although Miss Lejeune, who loved horseback riding, and was an 
excellent traveller, might have preferred the extended trip, and 
though the girls and Philip were of course wild for it, it was under- 




NOKTHERISr END OF THE CANAL. 



stood at first that it was not to be thought of, because too fatiguing 
for Mrs. Horner, and too expensive for all. The young people were 
promised enough of tent life to give them a fair taste of it. Mean- 
while, there was plenty of novelty to satisfy them, even if they were 
to sleep in a house, in the long procession of mules and muleteers 
preceding them, laden with the baggage, which, although it had 
been reduced to its smallest compass, seemed cumbrous piled up on 
the backs of pack-animals. 

It was a scene of confusion before the hotel while they were all 
mounting their somewhat sorry steeds. Two well-stuffed side-saddles 



242 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

belonged to them, but Mary and Bessie had to put up with inferior 
ones ; it was agreed that they should be changed around from time 
to time. Better horses, too, were promised for future excursions, 
but these were now the best to be had. 

" Me on a horse ! " groaned Mrs. Horner ; " who would dream 
of such a sight ! I hope he is very gentle. Hassan, did you se- 
lect the meekest one for me ? " 

Hassan grinned. The animal with a drooping head and languid 
attitude, looked not at all likely to run away with his burden. 

Tommy was perched up on his horse, and half way up the nar- 
row street, steep as a flight of steps, before any one else. 

" Tommy ! Tommy ! " called his mamma. " He will be lost. 
Oh, dear ! I am afraid we are undertaking too much this time. 
This horse is so very tall ! " 

" Mamma, dear, will you just be calm ? " urged Philip, smooth- 
ing down her skirts and adjusting her stirrup. "All you have 
to do, is to hold on. This beast of yours is as 'quiet as a cow, 
and I will keep close to you all the way. See aunt Dut ! she is 
as brave as a lion." 

Hassan led Mrs. Horner's horse up the street. She held her 
reins anxiously, and looked steadily between the ears of the ani- 
mal. They passed through the crowd of spectators single file, 
until they came out of the closely built town upon the flat plain 
immediately outside of it. 

For several miles out of Jaffa the road was through orange 
groves, protected by cactus hedges ; blossoms and fruit both there 
in perfection, and the perfume pervading the air. After that it 
stretched along through a flat plain, covered with the most 
charming flowers. The profuse rains of the early spring bring up 
a growth of verdure, over which every kind of blossom is sprinkled. 
They saw in places thousands of flowers without a name, — red, 
blue, white, and yellow, — so thick that their green leaves were lost 
among them. ' It was like a Persian carpet for rich profusion of 
tints, with the huge red anemones, wholly different in their gaudy 
splendors from the timid little one that ventures forth early in the 



PALESTINE. 245 

American spring, although the same botanically ; cyclamen, in big 
tufts, and poppies in profusion ; Mary was enchanted. 

"I mean," she said enthusiastically, " to paint nothing but flowers 
in Syria." 

They wanted to jump from their horses for every new blossom. 
Hassan was very obliging about picking specimens, but his taste 
was not select. 

"That one, Hassan! that little purple thing with the wings!" 




TOWER OF HA1ILEH. 



cried Mary, pointing with her whip. Whereupon Hassan carefully 
selected a coarse yellow sunflower to hand up to her. 



246 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



Finding their course would be slow if they stopped to point 
out, and gather, every new flower they saw, the party pressed for- 
ward to the resting-place for that night, Ramleh, the town where 
Richard Cceur de Lion, and everybody else since, have reposed on 
the way to Jerusalem. 

It is something of a town, with streets and modern houses ; its 
chief architectural attraction is a beautiful tower just outride its 
limits. Tradition has ascribed the building of this town to the 

Empress Helena, and it 



has been added that there 
was a Christian convent 
there, and a church of the 
Knights Templars ; but 
this supposition is now 
abandoned. The tower 
is Saracenic, with an Ara- 
bic inscription, of a date 
corresponding to A. d. 
i 310. Whatever its his- 
tory, it is a picturesque 
ruin, and, from the top, 
the view of the plain is 
very pretty. Ramleh was 
a post of importance dur- 
ing the war of the Cru- 
sades, and was the head- 
quarters of Richard. In 
the truce between him 
and Saladin, it was agreed 
that half of Ramleh should 
remain in the hands of the 
Christians. 

The young .Homers pleased themselves with imagining the scenes 
■ of their favorite Talisman enacted on the broad plain upon which 
they looked clown from the town. 




CRESCENT AND CROSS. 



PALESTINE. 247 

"Do you suppose, mamma," said Tommy, "that Scott came here 
to see how it looked before he wrote about it ? " 

" No, Tommy," said his mother. " People did not travel to get 
local color in the time of Sir Walter Scott. It was not so easy 
as now to go to remote lands. It is wonderful that his descrip- 
tions of scenery are so good, when he drew for them upon his 
fancy or invention." 

"He must have read accounts of the East, while he was work- 
ing up the historical facts for his novel," remarked Mr. Horner. 

"For my part," said Miss Lejeune, "my impressions of scenes 
are so firmly founded on Scott's account of them, that I believe 
I should think the real places were wrong, if they did not come up 
to his descriptions of them." ' 

"Indeed!" cried Philip, " then they must be altered to suit you 
and Sir Walter Scott. Are you sure you like this town, aunt 
Dut ? If not, we will pull it down, and have it rebuilt d la Talis- 
man" 

"Don't be alarmed, Philip," said Mr. Hervey, coming to the 
rescue, " we shall not see any thing which glaringly contradicts the 
inspirations of Scott." 

" Do you go so far, Hervey, as to allow him inspiration ? " 
asked Mr. Horner with a smile. 

" Well," replied Mr. Hervey, " there is so much writing without 
any trace of inspiration in the world, that I am ready to give 
that honor to a style of narrative which, like Scott's, draws so 
much from the imagination or invention of the author." 

The night at Ramleh was spent at the Russian Hospice. The 
party passed through a courtyard and up a flight of steps in the 
open air, to a broad, flat roof, with a row of little rooms built at one 
end, all opening upon it. A separate door led into each of the 
rooms, one of which was a sort of parlor, the rest sleeping-rooms. 
Hassan hastened to release some chickens which had travelled with 
them from Jaffa, on the side of a mule, with their heads hanging- 
down, and to prepare them to be cooked and eaten. It was late 
before they had dined. The starlight was lovely over their heads 



248 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

as they passed to their rooms, candles in hand. They slept soundly 
in their strange little beds, and woke early to hear birds napping 
about in the ruined tower close at hand. Early in the morning, 
after coffee, their slight travelling matters were put up and fastened 
again upon the pack-animals, and they were once more on their horses, 
for a longer day's ride than the previous one. Mrs. Horner was 
more reconciled to her horse ; she had learned that he was not 
addicted to mad plunges, or bursts of speed. On the contrary, his 
pace was so dignified that she often found herself straggling along 
behind the party. 

" Where's mamma?" Philip would say at these times. "Hassan, 
suppose you go back and whip her up!" 

It was a charming experience. The horses all moved slowly, 
single file, or in pairs, their riders absorbed in watching the 
flowers, and little lizards that ran in and out. Once three gazelles 
bounded over a hill not far off. At noon they lunched under a 
fig-tree; rested an hour, filled their hands with cyclamen, and a pink 
flower that might have been the Rose of Sharon. 

The last part of the journey is very steep; the road zigzags up 
and down, and grows wearisome, especially as the traveller is by 
this time fairly tired of his seat in the saddle. Constant hope 
led them to expect the sight of their distant goal, many a time, 
to be disappointed, but at last, after a long, slow climb towards 
the top of a hill, when they had been riding along in silence, 
thinking, it must be confessed, of their sore and aching limbs, 
and longing for rest, and dinner, and beds, there came a shout 
from the forward guide, and lo ! they all saw stretched before 
them, — Jerusalem ! 



JERUSALEM. 



249 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

JERUSALEM. 

FINALLY, when the last rocky barrier was passed, we reached 
an open plain, with only great blocks of mysterious buildings 
on either side ; here and there figures on foot and horseback 
moved tranquilly, as if the vision we saw was to them too famil- 
iar for surprise or emotion, — the vision of a discrowned queen 
sitting mute upon her sad throne of lonely limestone, — Jerusalem." 

Thus writes the author of Syrian Sunshine, a book which had 
much to do with' the ardent desire of the Horner family to extend 
their trip into Palestine. 

Whatever notion may have brought the traveller thus far, he must 
here experience a deep emotion unlike that produced by the sight of 
any other city in the world. No other spot is so surrounded by 
sacred associations. To see with earthly eyes the place towards 
which the devout thought of the Christian world turns, is the reali- 
zation of a dream. 

The Homers, in a long file, entered the city under the rounded 
arch of the Damascus Gate, the hoofs of their animals clattering 
upon the rough stone pavement. Their hotel was near at hand. 
The ladies were lifted off their horses, very tired, and climbed up 
some whitewashed steps to the courtyard of the hotel. 

This courtyard was a square, open space, paved, and ornamented 
with a few plants, around which the house was built, two stories 
hisrh. The rooms on the first floor were the dining-room, and 
other such places ; open stairways led up to a balcony, a piazza 
running all round the square, with doors which opened into the sep- 
arate rooms. Above was the flat roof common to Eastern houses, 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

also accessible by a flight of steps from the balcony. Thus early 
in their experience the Homers were made to understand how the 
bed of the sick man could be lowered down from the roof, in the 
Gospel story. 

Their rooms were low and pleasant, with windows looking upon 
the light and sunny courtyard. From the roof they looked over 




WALL OF JERUSALEM. 



a mass of flat roofs and swelling domes, and the notched battle- 
ment of the city wall. 

The Homers spent a week in Jerusalem, viewing, in a reverent 
spirit, the places ascribed by tradition to scenes in the life of our 
Saviour. Guide-books and travellers give a great deal of time and 
mind to discussing the probable truth, or rather the improbability, 
of the localities being genuine. It seemed wiser, and far pleasanter 



JERUSALEM. 251 

to our party, to absorb themselves in what they saw, without 
questioning for the moment its reality. It was easy, in the midst 
of such scenes, to put themselves in an attitude of belief; criti- 
cism might come later. One fact is real : there stands Jerusalem; it is 
the city where nearly nineteen hundred years ago the scenes were 
enacted which created the Christian Church. This is so solid and 
vital, that quibbles about details seem jarring and out of place ; 
important to the advancement of scientific truths, but unnecessary 
for the emotional tourist. There is everywhere in Jerusalem, 
nevertheless, a painful mixture of superstition with reality ; it is 
hard to keep the balance. 
Philip was inclined to demur 
at the bold statements of the 
garrulous valet-de-place, who 
accompanied them on their 
first excursions, until Miss 
Lejeune said : " Let us try, 
Phil dear, to believe as much 
as we can about these places, 
and not to put ourselves in 
a critical and objecting mood." 

They were then walking 
through the Via Dolorosa, from 
Pilate's house to the Church 
of the Holy Sepulchre. The 

streets are very narrow, on irregular levels ; they nave no siaewaiKS, 
and are badly paved with cobble-stones, if at all. The feet of 
all the party became . tired and sore during their stay, for there 
is no driving to be done ; vehicles are unseen, and one walks 
everywhere within the walls. 

They reached the entrance of the church by a narrow, crooked 
street, and descended a flight of steps to an open court, of which 
the facade of the church occupies one end. The first thing they 
saw after entering, was the row of Turkish guards stationed there 
to preserve peace among the rival sects of Christians that frequent 




252 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

the sacred building. The interior decorations are similar to those of 
the Roman Catholic cathedrals they had seen in Europe. As they 
had not been to Rome to see St. Peter's, they could not compare it 
with that. It is too much broken up to be very impressive in 
effect, being divided among the Latin, Armenian, and Greek Chris- 
tian sects, each of which has its own portion of the sacred 
enclosure. 

Their first visit of inspection was but a superficial one ; they 
became afterwards more familiar with the Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre, by the Holy Week ceremonies they attended in it. 

A painted arch and rounded gate near by, reminded Philip of 
the Knights of St. John, for this was the hospital they instituted 
at their foundation. 

In the afternoon the whole party walked to the top of the 
Mount of Olives, stopping at the Garden of Gethsemane, which is 
now enclosed and cared for by Franciscan monks, who have laid it 
out in a garden with formal beds, from which they gathered wall- 
flowers and lavender blossoms for Mary. The garden contains aged 
olive trees. 

" Miss Lejeune," said Mr. Hervey, " do you remember the trees in 
Perugino's picture of the agony in the Garden?" 

"Yes!" she exclaimed; "one would think he had studied them 
from these." 

The walks outside of Jerusalem are very charming, through paths 
worn only by the feet of men and animals. They passed a long- 
time on the Mount, looking across at the city, and when they were 
quiet, Miss Lejeune, who had her Bible in her pocket, read to them,— 

Blessed are the poor in spirit : for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 
Blessed are they that mourn : for they shall be comforted. 
Blessed are the meek : for they shall inherit the earth. 

Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness : for they shall be filled. 

Blessed are the merciful : for they shall obtain mercy. 

Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 

Blessed are the peacemakers : for they shall be called sons of God. 

There is a mosque with a tower on the Mount, from the top of 
which is pointed out the Dead Sea, and the hills from which Moses 



JERUSALEM. 255 

viewed the promised land. The guide shows also a place where the 
Crusaders fought one of their worst battles. 

"What a confusion of ideas!" exclaimed Mrs. Horner; "Christian, 
Jewish, Moslem!" Coming home they crossed the dry bed of the 
brook Kedron, and 
also gathered red 
anemones there. 

Mary never re- 
turned from these 
walks without a 
handful of little 
flowers, which, 
however tired she 
might be, she 
hastened to paint, 
thus preserving a 
floral diary ; among 
them was a little blue blossom, said to be the tares that come 
up with the wheat. The lily of Siloam, the star of Bethlehem, — all 
these names, which before had been shut up between the covers 
of her New Testament, now assumed a living meaning. 

The next day, with permits from the American Consul, they 
visited the Mosque of Omar, on the site of the temple. Many of 
the stones used in its construction are believed to have formed a 
part of the original Temple of Solomon, columns of the purest mar- 
ble, porphyry and serpentine. Excavations to the depth of eighty feet 
below the present city, have resulted in the discovery of the orig- 
inal masonry, the stones bearing upon them the marks of the Phoe- 
nician workmen. 

"Do not tell Bessie about that," begged Philip, "she will want 
to go down and look for Rameses on the walls." 

The place is now wholly Mohammedan ; full of traditions of the 
Prophet, and rich decorations in arabesque and mosaic. 

Bessie and Philip, with Mr. Hervey, walked around the city 
from the Jaffa Gate back to their hotel, or near it, on top of the 




SUMMIT, MOUNT OF OLIVES. 



25G A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA, 

walls, on a narrow, grass-grown path between the battlements. It 
was very interesting. Away from the city were spread the hills 
and valleys dotted with places familiarly named ; within the town, 
they looked down upon flat roofs where women were at work, 
monks moving about, and cats sunning themselves. 

Mary wrote in one of her Jerusalem letters: 

"We then set forth to see the sacred procession come out from 
St. Stephen's Gate. As to whither they proceed, we cannot clearly 
tell; some say to the tomb of Moses, but as that is equally 




MOSQUE OF OMAR. 

unknown, it does not settle the question. Anyhow, we saw them 
come out of the Gate, go down the hill, and return again, a strange 
row of Moslems, with turbans and banners, and one man that danced a 
kind of fandango to- a thrumming instrument, waltzing and turning 
all at the same time as he advanced in the ranks. The most curi- 
ous part of such things is the crowd; children dressed in their 

best, little yellow gowns, with striped sashes. The women do not 

cover their faces as much as those we saw in Egypt ; if they do 



JERUSALEM. 



257 



have nose-pieces, the cotton is thinner than those dark-blue ones. 

" Afterwards we went to the Jews' wailing-place, outside the 
Temple, a piece of real old wall where the Jews go and weep 




UPON THE WALL. 



every Friday, because they are excluded from their sacred place. 
The stones are worn by their tears for ages. The weather was 
pretty bad and the place muddy. There was only one conscientious 
old Jew wailing along regularly from one end to the other, the 
Book of Lamentations in his hand." 

Jerusalem was crowded with visitors at this time, for Holy Week 
was approaching, which is the very height of the season. Wor- 
shippers of the several faiths represented in the Church of the 
Holy Sepulchre, assemble for the ceremonies held there ; and 
other travellers are attracted from curiosity, and because the period 
after the early rains, and before the extreme heat of summer, is 
the best for Syria. 

Many parties were camping in their own tents outside the walls. 
Mr. Hervey met several Boston acquaintances, and Miss Lejeune 
and the Homers occasionally recognized, in their walks, familiar 



258 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

American faces. At their hotel, there assembled every evening, at 
the table d'hote, a pleasant set of travellers, who became inti- 
mate at once; two French savants and an artist of note travelling 
together on their way to Palmyra, and some agreeable people from 
Cincinnati, who did credit to America by their intelligence and 
cultivation. 

"Would not Mrs. Chevenix enjoy this!" said Mary. 



BETHANY. 



25<J 



CHAPTER XXVIII. 

BETHANY. 

THE Sunday after their arrival was Palm Sunday, and Bessie 
and her father were the heroic ones who rose at half-past 
four in the morning to see the ceremony at the Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre. Miss Lejeune declined the invitation, and so did Mary, 
who retained, as almost the only trace of that delicate health which 
had started her family upon their travels, a dislike for early rising. 
Poor papa did not much like it, but Bessie wanted to go. Tommy 
had expressed a wish to be called ; but after one yawn, he fell 
back into bed again, and Bessie did not urge him, for fear he might 
get lost in the crowd. 

Escorted by a gentleman attached to the American Consulate, and 
his sister, who had lived a long time in Jerusalem, they walked through 
damp and rainy streets. The early start was necessary, on account 
of the dense crowd, although places had been reserved for them. 

Two separate services went on at the same time, the Greek and 
Latin, in their two chapels, which opened upon each other, each 
gorgeously lighted with many candles ; a low gate between the two 
shut out the Greeks from the Latins. The Homers went to see 
the Latin ceremony, but through the open space they could hear the 
music and smell the incense of the Greek one. In another part of 
the great edifice, the Armenian service was going on at the same 
time. 

The chants and performances of the Latin ceremonial were incom- 
prehensible to Bessie ; the patriarch blessed the palms and presented 
them to all those who chose to advance and receive them. Bessie 
noticed a person from their hotel, universally called the " strong-minded 



260 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

woman in green," among the first to approach and receive one, 
although she was not a Catholic, and had no other motive than curi- 
osity and the love of accumulation. Several princesses received highly 




CHURCH OF THE 1IOLV SEPULCHRE. 



ornamented palms. The procession marched three times round the 
sepulchre, the bishop, the priests, boys chanting in white gowns, and 
followed by monks, princesses and travellers, carrying candles ; but pre- 



BETHANY. 263 

ceded, alas ! by a company of Turkish soldiers to keep the Christians 
in order. After the Latin service was over, the Greeks advanced 
and finished theirs upon the spot of the sepulchre, with a ceremony 
as gorgeous, and to them more full of meaning, than the former. 

On the next Sunday, Easter, all were present at the ceremonies in 
the church, and on Easter eve the gentlemen and Tommy, without 




GOLDEN GATE, JERUSALEM. 



the rest, pressed through the crowd to witness what is called the 
miracle of the Holy Fire, by the Greek Church. But far more inter- 
esting was the quiet Sunday afternoon they spent at Bethany, a 
walk of three miles from Jerusalem, every step of which is hallowed 
ground. 

Passing through St. Stephen's Gate, they again went down the 
winding path to the brook Kedron, and around the Mount of Olives ; 
it was strange that even Mrs. Horner, who was never a good pedes- 
trian, found no fatigue in these strolls, they were so full of interest. 



264 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

They wandered along slowly in groups, stopping to rest, and gath- 
ering flowers. 

Bethany is now a poor village of twenty or more houses, not much 
more than a mile from Jerusalem. The houses are rudely made of 
stone with flat roofs ; the view from them is dreary and desolate, 
looking off towards Jericho, the only shade being given by a few 
straggling fig-trees. But this little hamlet was the home of our 
Saviour ; here he often came to see Mary and Martha. Down that 
very road they often looked and longed for him to come, and it 
was there that Martha met him with the words : 

"Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." 

Such details are made vivid by the actual sight of the place. 
Miss Lejeune read from the book she carried in her hand : 

"There was that touch of celestial fire, that authority by which 
mortal never spake, that law of lovely living which earth hinders, 
but the soul allows with burning belief, which makes Christ's pres- 
ence as vivid to us now, as once of old it was. There is no danger 
of the world's forgetting the lesson he was sent to teach. It is 
branded into our hearts. A peasant of Judea, he was chosen to bear 
the sacred promise of eternal life ; on him waited the hosts of an 
unseen world. Where there was simplicity and a pure heart, his 
presence drew like a magnet. Where there was suffering and disease, 
a celestial benignity by a touch made the law of life triumph over 
decay. A few lessons of teaching were all love gave in parable, act 
and speech. One touch, a burning splendor upon the world's heart, 
which, it can never forget, and then this life, so short, so fruitful, 
was closed." * * * 

It was an hour the children never forgot. Through all their lives 
they will be aware that their best real impressions of the reality 
and beauty of the character of Christ, their conviction of a life 
beyond this one of earth, and the importance of so bearing themselves 
that their immortal part may be in some measure capable of a 
spiritual existence, are dated from the Easter Sunday afternoon at 
Bethany. 

It was from Bethany that Jesus set out on the morning of his 



PROCESSION WITH PALMS. 



BETHANY. 267 

triumphal entry to Jerusalem. As they returned, they took the path 
which is supposed to indicate his course. At a turn of the hill the 
whole city suddenly bursts upon the view. It was there that the 
multitudes, looking upon it, raised the shout of triumph : 

" Hosanna to the Son of David, blessed is he that cometh in the 
name of the Lord." 

The day after Easter was planned for the beginning of a short 
excursion of a week to several places of interest in the neighbor- 
hood. They were to travel on horseback, and sleep in tents ; and 
Hassan had gathered together the mules and muleteers, and all the 
paraphernalia belonging to camping-out in the East, conducted, 
indeed, on a different scale from that of American woods. Horses 
or donkeys take the place of canoes, and the sharp stroke of the 
mule-driver is the propelling power, instead of the paddle. 

At dinner on the Sunday evening Miss Spark, the " strong-minded 
female traveller in green," managed to sit next to Mr. Horner, who 
was at the end of their party. 

" Spark is sweet on papa to-night," said Mary to Philip in a low 
voice. They sat opposite and lower down, and were not likely to 
be overheard. 

"Poor thing!" replied Philip; "I suppose she is trying to make 
him invite her to go with us." 
'/With us! how do you mean?" 

"Don't you know? she has been three weeks in Jerusalem, just 
dying to go to Hebron and the Dead Sea, or anywhere ; but she 
cannot go alone, and she can't hitch on to any party." 

"What a shame!" said Mary. 

" Serves her right for pushing round the world by herself, in a 
gown that buttons behind." 

Miss Spark was the general laughing-stock of the tourists, who 
assumed that her position was not very dignified, although enterprising. 
It was said that she had money enough to travel alone on the beaten 
path, but that her independence was not strong enough to prevent her 
" hitching on," as Philip had expressed it, to chance parties, for excur- 



208 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVEK EGYPT AND JSYKIA. 

sions beyond the reach of her purse,, requiring the protection of 
numbers. 

The Homers were therefore amazed, when, in the evening, Mary 
said, with some hesitation : 

" I suppose you will think I have lost my mind, but I cannot 
help pitying Spark. Do you think it would spoil our trip if we 
took her with us ? " 

"With us!" cried Philip. "What are you talking about?" 

"My dear Mary!" said her mother. 

"Where would you put her?" demanded Miss Lejeune. 

Mary's color rose. She was not accustomed to proposing unpleas- 
ant things, but she went on bravely : 

" I thought I might take her in my tent, and let Bessie be with 
you, aunt Gus. Hassan says each tent holds two little beds, so 
we have half a tent to spare. I did not think of poking her off 
upon you, dear " — 

The generosity of Mary's proposal went to the heart of every 
one. 

Miss Lejeune pressed 'her hand in silence. The mother thought 
that the softening influences of the day were already manifest, but 
she said gently : 

"Mary, you are always too ready to sacrifice yourself." 

" But she need not sacrifice other people," grumbled Philip, in an 
undertone, walking away from the discussion. 

"I am not sure that it would spoil the party," said Mr. Horner. 
" I found her at dinner really very intelligent." 

Mr. Hervey laughed. 

" We saw her exercising her charms upon you, and feared the 
result." 

"I have no objection, on the whole," said Miss Augusta. "I dare 
say she is an excellent woman, and as Mary has set the example, 
we may as well all show the same grace." 

"O aunt Gus," called Philip from his distant window. "Every- 
body will laugh at us for being taken in by her." 

"I think we can stand that, my boy," replied his father. 



BETHANY. 



271 



" Let us think it over till to-morrow morning," said Mrs. Horner, 
and this was agreed upon. 

Bessie had been entirely silent. She shared Philip's views about Miss 
Spark, and she appreciated, even more fully than he, how much Mary 
was risking in taking an unpleasant companion into her tent. But Mary 
converted her before they went to bed, and she undertook the task 
of appeasing Philip in the morning. He relented, as usual, but it 
went hard with him. When Tommy, who had gone to bed before 
it was proposed, heard of it, he uttered his favorite whoop, adding 
the one word, " Spark ! " 

Upon Mrs. Horner devolved the task of inviting Miss Spark. This 
was all settled before the Horner party met in the morning for coffee 
in the dining-room. She found the lady in her room, writing a letter 
to the Machiasport Elucidator, about Palestine. Mrs. Horner was 
obliged to introduce herself before she explained her errand. It was 
some little time before it was understood. 

"Do you really mean," said Miss Spark at last, "that you invite 
me to go with you down to Hebron ? " 

"Yes," repeated Mrs. Horner; "we heard you would like to go, 
and as we have half a tent to spare, there will be no additional 
expense." 

" Well, I do declare ! " exclaimed Miss Spark, " there is Chris- 
tians, after all ! " 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER XXIX. 

TENT LIFE. 

/^REAT was the amazement of the dwellers in the hotel, when 
VJ they assembled as usual to watch the daily departure, — for 
some party left every day at that season, fitting off for the Dead 




APPROACH TO BETHLEHEM. 

Sea, or elsewhere,— to see, among the Homers, Miss Spark 
advancing to be put upon her horse, in her accustomed green trav- 
elling-dress, buttoned behind. But Miss Spark was not so green as 



TEXT LIFE. 273 

she had been painted. It may here be said, once for all, that 
she proved herself a quiet, well-behaved member of the party ; 
not exactly well-bred, in the society sense of the word, but anx- 
ious to please and not to intrude. A sort of pretentious assump- 
tion to literary style, which appeared in her conversation at first, 
fell off from her on further acquaintance, and left a rude, native 
speech, which every one preferred, as more genuine than the other. 
She was so grateful to the Homers for taking her along, that she 
was almost too self-suppressing. 

It was after lunch that the procession led forth through the 
Damascus Gate in the direction of the Pools of Solomon, only a 
short distance, but far enough for a good start, and to break the 
journey of the following day. First came a wild-looking Bedouin chief, 
who accompanied the party, not only to give local color, as Miss 
Lejeune suggested, but to ensure kind treatment from all Bedouins 
they might chance to encounter. He wore on his head a kuffia 
of striped silk. He was hung about with warlike weapons, and 
his belt was stuck full of pistols. He spoke no language known to 
our friends, and watched the ladies with an impassive countenance 
and gleaming eyes. Hs was mounted upon an Arab steed with 
Eastern trappings. This steed did not scour the plain with its 
dusky rider, as it would have done in a sensational novel, but 
paced along in a somewhat spiritless manner, at the head of t'he 
cortege. 

Next followed, in single file, or two by two, the whole party, 
generally in the order dictated, not by the choice of the riders, 
but by the will of their horses. Mrs. Horner's horse would fall to 
the rear. This was strange, for it was a , different beast from the 
one which brought her from Jaffa, when precisely the same thing- 
had happened. So somebody lingered behind all the time to cheer 
her up ; for her spirits were low on horseback, at the best, and 
this fresh start renewed all her doubts about keeping on. Tommy's 
short legs stuck out on either side of a remarkably large animal, 
selected for steadiness of disposition. Hassan jaunted along near 
him, with private directions to keep a good lookout on Master 



274 - A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

Tom, upon a sprightly mule whose quick step and jingling bells 
were most inspiriting. Philip and Bessie had the best horses of 
the lot. Urged to their utmost, they covered almost five miles an 




A GROUr OF JEWS BY THE ROADSIDE. 



hour. On a flat piece of ground, the two swept off sometimes for 
a spurt of speed, then walked their horses until the cavalcade came 
up with them. Mary attempted no such feats. She was a timid 
rider, and preferred to keep with the rest, her eyes always fixed 
on the roadside to detect new flowers. Mr. Hervey and Mr. Horner 
divided their attention between the ladies. 



TENT LIFE. 275 

Miss Lejeune had a good deal of talk with Miss Spark soon after 
they set forth, after which she thus expressed her opinion to Mr. 
Hervey : 

" She will do very well. There is nothing really wrong about 
her. I dare say we shall come to liking her, unless poor Mary 
gets too much of her society. She has not the faintest conception 
that there is any impropriety in going about the world, in this 
unprotected manner." 

" It is a very unpleasant manner," replied the Boston man. 

After riding in this fashion about two hours over the irregular 
road, which winds up and down, sometimes through rocks and 
bushes, sometimes over bare plains, they came to Solomon's Pools, 
their destination. They first saw an old ruined battlement, from 
the top of a slight hill, and, on reaching it as they turned sharp 




SOLOMON'S POOLS. 



round a corner, they found their tents already pitched, and smoke 
rising from the stove of the cook, the same valuable personage 
who had prepared all their feasts on the Bent-Anat, who now 
always preceded the party, with the baggage train which consisted 



276 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

of three horses, two mules and two donkeys, with their necessary 
complement of drivers and guides. These attendants were always 
in advance, to put up the tents and bring matters into readiness 
before the arrival of the rest. 

It was a lovely spot. They gave shouts of joy and jumped gayly 

from the horses. The tents were 
in a valley, with hills upon the 
horizon, and in front of them three 
broad, square pools or tanks. 
It was, however, cold, and grow- 
ing dark, and the smell of steam- 
ing soup was very agreeable ; so 
that they were glad to enter the 
tent which served as salle a 
manger, where was a real table, set 
forth with all the details of a 
first-class hotel dinner. It is won- 
derful how that cook managed 
to prepare, upon a little charcoal' 
stove, a meal of five or six 
courses. As it was too cold to sit 
out doors, and as all were tired, they were soon in bed. 
There were four striped tents, besides one of a bright apple- 
green color, belonging to the "domestic" department. One was 
for Mr. and Mrs. Horner and Tommy, who was kept under the 
maternal wing, another was shared by Mr. Hervey and Philip; the 
third belonged to Miss Lejeune and Bessie, and the fourth to 
Mary and her self-imposed Spark. 

Each tent contained two little narrow iron bedsteads with com- 
fortable mattresses; even a wash-stand and basin adorned each. 
By unlimited mule power, the necessities, and even the luxuries of 
life may be conveyed ; and this is the fashion, in the nineteenth 
century, in which are visited the scenes of the simple life of the 
first years of Christianity. 

Early rising is an enforced virtue in camp life. There is no 




kachel's tomb. 



TENT LIFE. ™ 

peace for the sluggard after the sun is up, when once the rattling 
of pots and pans, the stamping of horses and gabbling of guides 
have begun. 

Mary was sketching the Pools before the air was dry enough 
to keep her colors from running all over the paper, and Bessie 
brought in a handful of flowers she had gathered when they 
assembled for coffee. The tents were struck and off before they 
were, and after a slight examination of the Pools, the party was on 
its way by eight o'clock. 

These immense tanks are partly dug out of the rocky bed of the 
valley, partly built of huge stones. The bottom of the upper Pool 
is higher than the top of the next, and so with the Second 
and third, the source of water being a subterranean fountain in 
a field near by. An aqueduct from the pools formerly ran in a 
winding course to Jerusalem. There is no question of the great 
age of these reservoirs, and though there is no reference in 
Scripture, or in Josephus, to any such means of carrying water to 
the city, it is evident they were built for that purpose. 

" What is your own opinion," demanded Miss Spark of Mr. 
Hervey, " of the authenticity of these edifices?" 

"There is no deception about them, it seems to me," replied 
Mr. Hervey. 

" Well, no, and so it strikes me. It stands to reason that Solo- 
mon, h^ must have had pools, and if so, why not these pools? 
To my mind, it is highly conclusive." 

; ' I think we may so consider it," replied Mr. Hervey. 

The next day, Tuesday, they rode all clay, stopping for lunch on 
the wayside. They saw flowers, flowers, everywhere. They passed 
the Tomb of Rachel, a small modern Moslem building, surmounted by 
a dome ; the authenticity of the sepulchre is unquestioned. The 
pillar which Jacob set up over . his wife was still there in the time 
of Moses ; but has long since been destroyed. This is a shrine 
which Moslems, Jews, and Christians, hold in equal reverence. 

The party reached Hebron at night, cold and tired, after a long 
day, which, being the first, was a severe test of the fatigue of trav- 



278 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

elling in this manner. Afterward they became more accustomed to 
it ; but for ladies, the strain of sitting upright on horseback, for 
hours at a time, with one knee bent in the saddle, is great. Even 
the most robust were glad to slip off their horses and fling them- 
selves on the good little beds prepared for them. A good dinner, 
and refreshing cups of tea, revived them, and they were ready after 
it to receive a visit from a party of Englishmen, whose camp was 
close to their own. 

Hebron was hitherto known to them as the name of a good 
old-fashioned tune in long metre. As they were sitting in front of 
their tents before separating for the night, Miss Spark, most un- 
expectedly, struck up in a clear, strong voice : 

" Thus far the Lord hath led me on, 

Thus far his power prolongs my days; 
And every evening shall make known . . 

Some fresh memorial of his ways." 

Every voice of the Horner -party joined in, and the swelling 
sounds rose and filled the air. It was a reminiscence of their 

common New England 
home, and the Homers 
were well pleased with 
Miss Spark for the im- 
pulse. • 

Hebron is in the val- 
ley of Eshcol, whose 
sides are covered with 
vineyards. The grapes 
of Eshcol were famous 
Abraham's oak. in ancient time, and 

a thin sour wine is still made there. The houses are of stone, 
flat-roofed, with the odd little domes seen in several parts of 
Palestine. The Homers were told that the houses were thus covered 
on account of the scarcity of wood and the difficulty of finding 
beams long enough to stretch from wall to wall. 




TENT LIFE. 279 

The next morning there was another early start. The tents were 
struck, horses were mounted, and the little cavalcade returned over 
the same track as that of the day before, only leaving the road 
to find a large tree called Abraham's oak. It has a splendid 
trunk, very large round, and holly-like leaves. The tradition is 
that Abraham received the angels under this very tree. 

The weather was growing warmer, and out-door life became more 




VINES OF ESHCOL. 



delightful. The party lunched by the wayside, while the train of 
pack-animals filed along before them to reach the camping-ground 
first. While they were waiting for lunch, they were joined by a 
pedestrian, who proved to be Mr. Black, a clergyman from Eng- 
land, whom they had seen at the hotel. He was walking about 
the neighborhood of Jerusalem, enjoying the interesting places. They 
invited him to lunch with them, and were much entertained by his talk. 



280 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER XXX. 

THE approach to 
Bethlehem is by 
ascending a series of 
terraces almost like 
stairs, on the top of 
which stands the great 
pile of buildings con- 
taining the Church of 
the Nativity, and three 
convents of Latin, Greek 
and Armenian Christians. 

It looks down upon 
the fields where Ruth 
gleaned, where David 
kept his father's sheep, 
and where the shepherds 
watched their flocks by night, all fraught with the greatest interest. 

The oldest part of the Church of the Nativity was erected by 
the Empress Helena, to whom the Homers had already so often heard 
reference since coming into Palestine, that they wished to know 
her history. She was the mother of Constantine the Great, the 
first Christian emperor who lived in the latter part of the third 
century. It is not known whether she was a Christian by birth, 
but she became a devoted one, making her pilgrimage to Jerusalem 
at the advanced age of seventy-nine. It was she who was supposed 
to have discovered the true place of the cross of Christ, under 




THE BABE IN THE MAHGEK. 



BETH LEU KM. 



2S:i 



divine guidance, which had been lost during the two hundred years 
since his crucifixion. Having thus found the situation of the holy 
places, she caused them to be adorned, and the Church of the Holy 
Sepulchre to be erected over them. She built several other churches, 





•; yi- r 'V'V->f,r^' r \t", 



CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY. 

died in the arms of her son, and was carried to Rome, where 
a mausoleum was raised to her. 

The Basilica at Bethlehem bears the date of 327 a. d. and is 
therefore the oldest piece of Christian architecture in the world. 
It is neglected and badly defaced, for the different sects of Chris- 



284 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



tians cannot agree together about any thing, and so it is left to 
the destruction of time. 

A narrow staircase from the church, hewn in the rock, and 
lighted only by a dim lamp, leads down to the sacred grottoes, 
and after many windings through chapels of less importance, the 
Chapel of the Nativity is reached, — a low vault hewn out of the 
rock. Hither came Mrs. Horner, alone with her children. The 




GLEANERS. 



others visited it later, but, probably by chance, the party was 
broken up into sets under the guidance of monks from the Latin 
Convent. 

They saw, in the low cave, a marble slab fixed in the pave- 



BETHLEHEM. 285 

ment, with a silver star in the centre, round which, in ■ Latin 
were the words : 



Here Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary. 

Round the 'star were hanging sixteen lamps, always burning, which 
gave the only light to the enclosure. 

Remote, silent, solemn was the little chamber. The impression 
of it upon the minds of the young group before this altar, was 
very deep. They saw in imagination the manger of the infant 
Jesus, and recalled the song of the angels, — 

"Glory to God in the highest, 
On earth peace." 

The other things shown them in the building all seemed of 
minor interest. They returned to their encampment some distance 
off, where they passed a quiet afternoon, lying in the pleasant 
sunshine and enjoying the warm weather. Mary gathered and 
painted a little yellow flower like that we call tne " star of 
Bethlehem," to add to her flower-marks of places in Judea. 

The situation was in itself beautiful, but they all felt the pres- 
ence of something which their minds beheld, giving beauty only 
the second place. They, too, like the Magi, had come, drawn by 
the star, as multitudes have been, which shines over the sacred 
cradle of Christianity. 

Miss Spark, who was winning her way to the kindly feelings of all 
the party, strolled down the steep road with Mr. Hervey, and 
while she was away, Mary, who was sketching while the others 
sat about her upon rugs spread on the ground, began to talk 
about her. Sharing the same tent had brought about confidences 
from Miss Spark which Mary had hitherto had no chance to impart 
to the rest. 

"It is really interesting," said she. " She is about thirty years 
old. She comes, you know, from Machiasport, Maine. Her people 
are well-to-do in the world; but she has a step-mother with half 
a dozen little children ; ' and I kind of felt,' " continued Mary, 



286 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

imitating the absent Spark, "'as if I might as well be earning 
my own living, considering father had so many. She was well 
enough, Mrs. Spark; I never call her mother, — guess not; but she 
did not appear over surprised when I spoke of going out by the 
day. Plain sewing never was in my line'" — 

And so she took to writing for the Machiasport Elucidator. 
She had an intense longing to see the East, born of the Bible 
lessons of the Presbyterian Sabbath-school. 

" ' But sakes ! I had no more idea of ever coming out here than 
of flying, till it all come together. Aunt Elvira, — she was my 




BETHLEHEM. 



mother's own sister, — she was always kind of mad that father 
married Mrs. Spark, and she up and died and left me five hun- 
dred dollars in the bank ; and the proprietors of the Elucidator 
agreed to pay me for writing up the Holy Land, if I would come 
out here. It is a Sunday paper, you know, amongst other things. 
Mother's children all had a knack of expressing themselves, not 
Mrs. Spark's, that ever I heard of, but the eldest, he is only six,' "— 
"Oh, come, Mary," cried Philip, "she did not say that!" 



BETHLEHEM. 287 

"Well, perhaps I have run ahead of her a little," assented Mary, 
" but that is the spirit of it." 

"She talks to you like that," remarked Bessie, "but she uses 
much bigger words to papa and the rest of us." 

"That is her editorial style," said Mr. Horner. 

"Yes," said Mary, -she puts it on, don't you notice, that, like 




INTERIOR OF KHAN. 



her gloves, before going into company. She is losing it with all 
of us, but the minute Mr. Black appeared yesterday, she took up 
her 'presume' and 'commence' again." 

"Well, well!" mused Miss Lejeune. "The idea of her having 
the courage to start off alone with so small a sum, and ignorant 
of every language, including her own!" 

"I like her pluck, but I hate her gown," said Philip, picking 
up a small stone and throwing it with violence far over into the 
valley. 

"Hush!" said his mother; "here they come!' 



288 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

Miss Spark and Mr. Hervey were coming round a turn of the 
path. The clergyman, Mr. Black, who might be expected to turn 
up at any moment, had joined them. 

"It is highly probable," he was saying, "that the 'habitation of 
Chimham, which is by Bethlehem' [Jeremiah xli. 17], meant a khan, 
or caravansary, such as prevailed in the East ; a place provided 
for travellers, where they might halt for the night at easy stops 
one from the other. Bethlehem formed the first stop from Jerusa- 
lem on the way to Egypt." 

" Then," said Miss Spark, " I presume, sir, that you will con- 
cur with me in conceiving that the prominent objects of elevated 
interest by which we are here comparatively surrounded, as it 
were, are authentically corroborated by the encomiums of modern 
exegetical examination." 

" There she goes with her five syllables," growled Philip ; 
"come, Tommy, let us go and look at those sheep down there!" 

"Shades of Dr. Johnson!" murmured Miss Lejeune. She joined 
the two gentlemen, and they strolled off in another direction, 
while Miss Spark, resuming her simplicity the moment their backs 
were turned, threw herself down by Mary, exclaiming, "Well, I 
declare, it is warm! I'm about roasted." 

The party lunched before breaking up camp at Bethlehem, and 
in the afternoon rode on towards Marsaba, a brief excursion of 
three hours, always facing the Dead Sea. At first beautiful flow- 
ers beset their path, but the way soon became barren, leading 
along the edge of deep cliffs, rather alarming to the tired Mrs. 
Horner, whose horse, as usual, poked along at the rear of the 
train, and seemed himself to dislike his nearness to the gulf. 

They reached Marsaba before nightfall, a strange, wild, pictur- 
esque place, where a convent with two high stone towers clings, 
rather than stands, upon the slope of a ravine, along the side of 
which are steep stone stairways. There was no shadow but the 
long one cast upon the barren soil by the convent-walls, outside of 
which their tents were pitched. Another encampment was at hand, 
belonging to the same party that they had met at Hebron. 



BETHLEHEM. 289 

Visits were exchanged, and social coffee was sipped at the door 
of one of the tents. 

The convent of Marsaba was founded and named after Saint 
Saba, a holy man of the fifth Christian century. * He must have 
been a person of great sanctity or eloquence, for his followers 
swarmed to this spot, where he determined to establish a retreat 
from the world. 

After his death, the history of the place is stained with blood, 
like most of the Holy Land, in the struggles between the crescent 




CONVENT OF MAESABA. 



and the cross. The convent is said to be very rich, and to con- 
tain treasures protected by its strong walls, and the precaution of 
its monks, who never permit any one to cross the threshold with- 
out a letter of introduction. Women are never admitted under any 
circumstances. The poor monks, who belong to the Greek Church, 
live under very severe rule ; their only pastime appears to be 
feeding and caring for flocks of birds which surround the place. 



290 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND feYKIA. 

"If I could find out," said Philip, that evening, " without too 
much bother, the difference between all these sects, I should be 
glad to have it off 'my mind." 

"I'll tell you," cried Bessie. "I know all about it now." 

" No ! You will make it too long," groaned Philip. 

"No, I will not," pleaded Bessie. "See, I will read it out of 
Murray, and skip a great deal." 

She turned the book clown toward the fading light, and read : 

" ' The Christians are divided into several sects. The Greeks are 
so called because they profess the Greek faith. This differs from 
the Latin, (that's Roman Catholic), in several points ; the calendar, 
the procession of the Holy Spirit, the exclusion of images from 
sacred buildings " ' — 

"Bessie, you are straining your eyes!" called out the watchful 
mamma. 

' " And • some other things, but not so very many. Then there 
are Maronites, and Druses, who are always fighting, and then 
there are Turks, who have the upper hand of everybody." ' 

"But those are not Christians," said Philip. 

"No," said Bessie, "and neither are the poor Jews who cling to 
their old country." 

"The Jews in Palestine are all foreigners, I am told," said her 
father, "from almost every country on earth." 

" Thank you, Bessie," said Philip, very amiably. " You are better 
than a guide-book. You tell just enough and no more." 



THE DEAL) SEA. 



2<J1 



CHAPTER XXXI. 

THE DEAD SEA. 

MARY'S letter: — "Thursday was a day to be marked with a 
white stone. We were up early, and in the saddle by 
half-past six, and rode five hours to the shore of the Dead Sea, 
on a narrow slippery path with a wall on the side of a gorge, 
sometimes down in the bottom of the ravine, sometimes perilously 
near the edge of a slope, finally coming out upon a splendid view 
of the upper end of the Dead Sea, with the Jordan running into 
it. Then we descended into the flattest of valleys, barren and 
desolate beyond measure, and were tantalized by a long ride of 
two hours before we reached the shore. We were so tired that 
it seemed as if we must drop off our horses, and the scene was 
so dreary ! But I must tell you about the sweet little camel we 
saw, only three days old ! He belonged to some Bedouins encamped, 
there. Their tents are dark-brown, and rather flat-roofed, and 
picturesque- in the distance. We see them often. But this little 
baby camel ! He was soft and mushy, like a new calf, but his 
legs were all ready to make a big camel, they were so long in 
proportion to his size. I loved him. Bessie says all camels are bad. 

"Near the shore the scene is lovely; a kind of stiff pink heather 
grows in profusion, and tufted shrubs, like willow, and tall grasses, 
and the Sea itself, a lovely, soft blue, plashing on the sand like 
any New England pond, stretches off between headlands sparkling 
and rippling in the sun, far southward. I do not know what 
people mean who talk about the ' dreary desolation of the Dead 
Sea,' and all that ; but pefhaps it is not always so peaceful as 
at this season. 



292 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

■•When we arrived, it was blazing hot noon-day, and we had 
a bath, think of that! in the Dead Sea!! Bessie and I had this 
on our minds and brought along something in the way of bathing- 
dresses, ft was rapturous. All is true about the specific gravity 
of the water. I do not believe anybody could sink, and it was 




BANKS OF THE JORDAN. 



hard to keep our feet down enough to make strokes. We did not 
„o far out, and mamma and aunt Gus stood on the shore and 
laughed at us. The water was just cool enough to refresh with- 
out* chilling, and looked so sparkling and clear that we were fain 
to sip of it, but the taste was fearful,- a combination of all the 
vile salts and medicines and fiery things you can think of. 

"After this we had a long and tedious ride over a desert of 
barren sand, the banks of the Jordan very delusive in the distance, 
green but far Our Bedouin escort and some friends of his that 
seem 'to be accompanying us, darted off on their fleet steeds after 



THE DEAD SEA. 205 

a loose horse, and spent all the afternoon in chasing him. Perhaps 
it was to show off their horsemanship. Anyhow, it was pretty to 
watch. 

"At last we reached the shore of the Jordan, a broad stream, with 
a fast-whirling current. On the opposite side there was a steep cliff, 
but on ours, a flat, muddy bank, with trees and fresh spring verdure, 
tall reeds and birds in the branches, just like the Ashuelot, or any 
other stream at home. And here we took another bath, — in the 




PLAIN NEAR JORDAN. 



Jordan! — to counteract that of the Dead Sea, for, by this time, 
we began to find ourselves crusted over with the potash and stuff 
that composed our first bath, with an uncomfortable stinging, sticky 
sensation, which we lost by that delicious dip in the river. We 
had to be careful about the current, which was very strong. In fact, 
we only stayed in a minute. You must not think we were indifferent 
to the fact that this was really The Jordan, and no common river. 



296 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA, 



" ' So to the Jews old Canaan stood, 
And Jordan rolled between.' 

" That afternoon we left the river and pressed on to Jericho, 
and found our camp pitched by the Brook Cherith, which was 
not dried up, but babbling merrily, and the frogs making a pro- 
digious noise. We forded the stream, and found dinner and bed 
ready for us. It was late and the moon was shining over the 
Mountain of the Temptation ; the scene too lovely to leave, but 
we were all tired " 

The Dead Sea is, both in its attributes and history, the most 
remarkable sheet of water in the world. It is below the sea-level, 
the depression of its surface being more than a thousand feet 
below that of the Mediterranean. Lying in a deep ravine, and 
exposed all summer to the hot sun of Syria, its shores are sterile 
and dreary, but the stories about deadly exhalations, and birds not 




BEARING THE ARK OVER JORDAN. 



coming near it, are fabulous, though the quantity of sulphur and 
other salts in the water renders it fatal to fishes. Sodom and 
Gomorrah were situated toward the southern end of the Lake, it 

is supposed. 



THE DEAD SEA. 297 

The Israelites crossed the Jordan four clays before the Passover, 
to which Easter corresponds. It is impossible to determine the 
spot ; but as the Homers sat beneath the willows upon the bank 
of the river, they imagined the priests advancing with the ark 
upon their shoulders, and the rest of the people following. The 
scene of the baptism of our Saviour also came vividly before their 
minds, like all the other events in his life, made distinct and real 
as they had never been before, by presence in the true places 
where they occurred. 

A strange ceremony is observed by the Christians of Palestine, 
which had just taken place, the bathing in the Jordan of the pil- 




FORDS OF THE JORDAN. 



grims, at Easter. On the Monday of Passion Week thousands of 
them march in a body to the shore, and bathe in the river. 

Friday was the last day of this expedition. They came by the 
fountain, Ain es-Sultan, whose waters were " healed " by the prophet 
Elisha. They are certainly sweet now, however bitter they may 
have been. Their path wound up through a gloomy pass to Bethany. 
On this dreary road they were often reminded of the parable of the 



298 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

Good Samaritan. Falling among thieves, and getting stripped and 
wounded, might easily occur now, from Bedouins, for the spot is as 
solitary now as it doubtless was then. 

From Bethany the path was familiar. Their tents were pitched 
just below the Garden of Gethsemane, at the foot of the Mount of 
Olives, whence they could see the Beautiful Gate, and the wall of 
the Temple. It would have been easy indeed, by pressing, to reach 
Jerusalem before the gates were locked ; but by unanimous wish, 
they prolonged the tent-life for one night more. Mr. Hervey and 
Philip rode into town, engaged rooms at the hotel, and came back 
in a short time with a budget of letters. 

Thus they passed a tranquil evening before their tents, the soft, 
beautiful scene, hallowed with holy associations, made sweeter by the 
thoughts of absent friends brought near by letters and messages. 

The news from America was all good. Eliza herself took up her 
unaccustomed pen to inform them that grandmamma was doing well, 
and that Mrs. Horatio was pretty much as usual, no better nor 
worse. 

Miss Lejeune had a gay, gossiping letter from a friend in New 
York, containing the inevitable amount of engagements, marriages, 
and deaths. 

"If they tell me again that Mr. Harris is engaged, I shall give 
up ! " exclaimed she. 

" Who is Mr. Harris ? " asked Mrs. Horner, looking up from her 
letter over her spectacles, which, being her first pair, were a great 
eyesore to her family, and no great assistance to her eyes, as she 
managed them awkwardly. 

" He is a perfectly harmless man," replied Miss Lejeune, " in 
whom I take no interest ; but he has seen fit to become engaged, 
and everybody mentions it as if it was of vital import." 

" ' I suppose you have heard,' " read Mary, from the letter she was 
deciphering, " ' that Mr. Harris is engaged.'" 

" There it is again ! " grumbled Miss Lejeune. 

Tommy had a lively letter from Mr. Stuyvesant, and Philip a 
scrawl from Ernest, enclosing a work of art for Mary, which he 



THE DEAD SEA. 299 

had executed on purpose for her. These were dated at Brindisi, 
at the heel of the Italian boot, which the Stuyvesants reached by 
steamer direct from Alexandria. This is the ancient Brundusium. 
Virgil died there ; and there is a castle bearing the arms of the 
Emperor Frederic Barbarossa. 

"We thought Bessie ought to have been there, for we were not 
worthy of such things," wrote Ernest. " I think he was the Em- 
peror she read me about, with the beard, who is asleep in a moun- 
tain. There was a black spotted cat at the hotel, and we named her 
Barbarossa." 

"Bravo for Ernest!" cried Mr. Hervey. "Your pupil is coming 
on, Bessie." 

" Not a very appropriate cat for the name," said Philip. " It 
ought to have been a red one." 

" Do they have red cats in Brindisi ? " inquired Tommy. 

This was the last news of the Stuyvesants. It was a family 
not much given to writing letters ; and no more came. They 
passed up through Italy to Milan, and spent the summer in 
Switzerland, returning the next winter to Paris, where the Homers 
found them at their old quarters. But this was long afterwards. 

Tales of the boys, Ernest and Augustine, and their feats upon 
the Nile, furnished food for merriment for the Homers. To those 
of the party who had lately joined it, they seemed a kind of 
myth, like the shadowy pair who hovered over the fights of 
the Greeks. But to Philip there was nothing shadowy in the 
remembrances of his two familiars, half torments and half pets, as 
they had been for him. 

Kind Mrs. Stuyvesant and the unemotional Emily had made some 
place in the affections of their travelling companions. It is some- 
thing to be not positively unpleasant when cooped up in the 
small space of a Nile boat. This somewhat negative praise was 
readily accorded. 

The names of Professor von Lessli and his friendly Madame 
brought a warmer expression whenever they were mentioned. 

It was at this time that Bessie received her one letter from 



300 A FAMILY FLIGHT OYER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

Colonel Leigh. It was dated at Simla, and gave a pleasant 
description of that place, high among the hills, where the English 
retreat from the heat of Calcutta. After Bessie had read it aloud, 
Miss Lejeune extending her hand, said :< 

" May I look at the handwriting, my dear?" After a glance 
she added : " It is, — I thought it might be, — the same. He is 
my Indian Colonel ! " 




IN FRONT OF THE CHURCH OF THE HOLY SEPULCHRE. 



HISTORICAL. 



301 



CHAPTER XXXII. 

HISTORICAL. 

THE name Jerusalem means Foundation of Peace, and Josephus 
states in two places that the Salem, of which Melchizedec 
was king, occupied the site of this city. Upon a mountain in the 




THE POOL OF BETHESDA. 



land of Moriah, Abraham was commanded to offer his son Isaac 
in sacrifice to God, and upon it, in the Temple built by Solomon, 
the "glory of God " was for many years visibly manifested ; (n. Chron. 
iii. i.) Moriah signifies Chosen of Jehovah. A warlike tribe, the 



302 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYKIA. 



Jebusites, held " the castle of Zion " till the time of David, whose 
first expedition, after he was proclaimed king over all Israel, was 
against it. David erected his palace on the ruins of the Jebusite 
castle, and called it the City of David. Thirty-seven years later 
Solomon laid the foundation of the Temple on the opposite hill of 
Moriah. 

Jerusalem thus became the sacred and civil capital of the Jewish 

nation. It attained 
its greatest height 
of power during the 
reign of Solomon. 
After that it passed 
through many 
changes of fortune, 
until it was plun- 
dered and burned 
by Nebuchadnezzar, 
king of Babylon. 
During fifty-three 
years the Israelites 
remained captives, 
and Jerusalem a 
ruin, until Cyrus released them and sent them back to rebuild 
their city and temple. When the new foundations were laid, " the 
people shouted for joy, but many of the Levites who had seen the 
first house wept with a loud voice." (Ezra iii n, 12.) Twenty years 
elapsed before the Temple was completed. 

From this time till the power of Greece reached Western Asia, 
Palestine was governed by a Persian satrap living at Damascus ; 
but when it yielded to Alexander the Great, Jerusalem was sum- 
moned to surrender. The High Priest refused, as he had sworn 
fealty to Darius. Alexander threatened to destroy the city ; but 
when he reached the mountain-brow, he met a strange procession, 
formed of the High Priest arrayed in his gorgeous robes, and his 
followers. When Alexander saw this, he advanced and saluted him, 




JEWS DEI VEX AWAY CAPTIVE. 



HISTORICAL. 



303 



and adored the sacred name of Jehovah upon his mitre, considering 
this an omen, in fulfilment of a dream he had had, that he should 
overthrow Persia. Thus Jerusalem was saved for the time. 

After Alexander, Palestine was held by the Ptolemies, and fell with 
them before the power of Rome. In the year 38 b. c, Herod 
obtained from Rome the title of King of the Jews; he ruled 
them with an iron sceptre, and shocked them by erecting heathen 
temples. But strange as it ' may seem, the Temple of Jerusalem 
was his work. It was begun in the eighteenth year of his reign, and 
the principal parts were finished in about nine years, though the 
whole was not completed till long after his death,— about four years 
before Christ's public ministry. The buildings were then so beautiful 
that the disciples led Jesus out to see and admire them. It was 
then that he uttered the prediction,— 

"Verily I say unto you, there shall not be left here one stone upon another, that 
shall not be thrown down." — Matt. xxiv. i, 2 

Literally these words have been fulfiled. Not a stone of the 
temple remains, and its 
very site is a sub- 
ject of dispute. Forty 
years after the Cru- 
cifixion, the Romans 
stormed the city, mas- 
sacred, it is said, more 
than a million of Jews, 
and razed the Temple 
to the ground. 

About 130 a. d., Ha : 
clrian visited Palestine, 
and observing that the 
Jews were plotting to 
throw off the Roman 

yoke, he banished most of them to Africa, and fortified Jerusalem. 
This led to a rebellion, but it was suppressed, and a decree was 




WAILING PLACE FOK THE JEWS. 



304 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYKIA. 

issued, forbidding all Jews to approach Jerusalem. Hadrian rebuilt 
it, and thus was the capital of Israel transformed into a Pagan city, 
with Jupiter as its god. 

Early in the third century, Jerusalem began to attract Christian 
pilgrims. When the Christian religion was established by Constan- 
tine, pilgrimage thither became easy, and was stimulated by the 
example of the mother of the Emperor, Helena, who visited the 
holy places, as has been said, at the age of eighty. 

It is curious that there were two Helenas, the other a queen in 
Kurdistan, who was converted to Judaism, not Christianity, two 
centuries before the Empress Helena lived. Her tomb among the 
monuments outside Jerusalem, of curious and interesting structure, 
is likely to be confounded with the relics of the Christian Empress. 

The Christians held Jerusalem but a short time. In the year 
636 a. d., the city, surrendering to the Caliph Omar, fell into the 
control of Mohammedans. In the middle of the eleventh century, 
Peter the Hermit roused the chivalry of Europe to wrest the Holy 
Sepulchre from the hands of the infidel. Jerusalem was taken, and 
remained in the hands of the Christians for nearly one hundred 
years. They purified the churches and shrines which the Moslems 
had defiled, and rebuilt the Church of the Sepulchre. Saladin cap- 
tured it, and though once again the Christians obtained possession, 
it was only for a few months. They were driven out for the last 
time in 1243, an< 3 Jerusalem has remained ever since under the 
sway of the Turk. 

The Homers devoted themselves to a study of the map and 
the Bible, by which they could connect each place with its story, 
and fix them together in their memory. Instead of contenting 
themselves with the week they had passed, before going to the 
Dead Sea, they now devoted another to the careful study of the 
place. 

As they had taken up their headquarters at the hotel for a 
longer time than is usual with travellers, they now became 
involved somewhat with social duties. Several of the European 
consuls called, and showed them attentions which they could not 



HISTORICAL. 305 

avoid. The Belgian Consul, in especial, from his long residence 
in Syria, was 'a most useful acquaintance ; he was very learned 
in the topography, ancient and modern, of the city, and ex- 
plained to those who would follow him, all the results of research 
concerning the foundations of the ancient Temple. 

Miss Lejeune > who always considered the interesting people 




WOMEN AT THE FOUNTAIN. 



she, met a strongly attractive element in the pleasure of travelling, 
made herself agreeable to all these visitors. She half repented not 
bringing a long black silk, to produce an impression on the Bel- 
gian. 

The plain travelling suit of the tourist is, however, fully ex- 
cused in Syria, where baggage must be reduced to the smallest 
compass. 

Mary was now so " grown up," that it was thought 



306 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

best she should share some of the dinners to which they were 
invited, but Bessie for her own part rigidly set her face against 
them, and while the elders were thus engaged, and the boys were 
following their own devices in the streets, she either stayed read- 
ing in the hotel, or with Hassan took long walks upon the 
paths that lead about the country outside the city, gathering 
flowers, and watching the sheep, the women at the well, and the 
incidents which are at once those of every-day life, and repetitions 
of the narrative of the Gospel. 

Mr. Hervey, after it was fully established that the long tour, 
in tents and on horseback, to Damascus, was too long and too 
fatiguing for the whole party, while he regretted this necessary 
decision, announced that he thought he might go on by himself 
over that road, and join them in Damascus. To suit his plan, it 
proved that a small party of guides were returning thither, empty 
handed, so that he could, if he liked, make the expedition in their 
company without the complication of muleteers and tents, which 
had formed a necessary part of the Dead Sea excursion. It would 
be rather a rough trip, but amusing, trusting to the hospitalities 
of the towns through which they would pass. 

Every one concurred in the wisdom of the arrangement. "What 
one of us sees, all see," said Mary. " We will all pretend in 
future that we have done every thing Mr. Hervey does." 

"Very well," he replied; "if you are caught at any time by 
not knowing what you are talking about, write to me, and I will 
book you up." 

Meanwhile Miss Spark, in her little room at the hotel, was 
scratch, scratching away with her pen at her " Letters from the 
Holy Land," for the Machiasport Elucidator. She was greatly 
helped by the intelligence of the Homers ; and Mr. Hervey, con- 
verted to her at last, was very kind in talking to her about her 
writing, and giving her valuable information from text-books which, 
ever provided with the needful, he had brought with him. 

" I never can express," said Miss Spark to him, " what a bene- 
fit your remarks have been. My letters will be entirely different 



HISTORICAL. 307 

from my usual style. I never even had a Murray of my own, 
and had to borrow one whenever I could get a chance. But now 
you have instructed my perceptions wonderfully." 

She meant to stay at Jerusalem as long as the Homers diet ; 
for they had urged her to accompany them back to Jaffa, and 
even as far as Beyrout. In fact, she was now one of the party, 
and a very grateful one ; always modest and retiring, and unwill- 
ing to encroach ; not only useful, but quick to observe where she 
might be of use. 

" In fact," admitted Philip one evening after she had retired for 




MODERN JERUSALEM. 



the night, " Spark is a great invention, Mary, and we must give 
you the credit of it." 

"We have now invented Mr. Hervey and Miss Spark," said Mr.. 
Horner, " both of them great institutions ; which do you think the 
best ? " 

" O, papa! papa!" cried all, and Tommy said, "I do not think 
we invented Mr. Hervey, he invented himself." 

This gentleman was not present during this talk, being busily 



308 A FAMILY FLIGHT OYER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

engaged in a conference with Hassan, who informed him that the 
expected party from Damascus had arrived, and that the guides 
would be ready to go back with him whenever he chose. This 
was the signal for a breakup of the settlement at Jerusalem. 
The Horners were to travel slowly back to Jaffa, and then by 
steamer to Beyrout, in order to fill up the ten days which must 
be allowed for Mr. Hervey's tent-trip across the country. Two days 
after was fixed for their time of departure, as they had one more 
engagement to fulfil, — a farewell dinner given them by their 
friend the Belgian Consul. 




BY THE ROADSIDE. 



PHILIP'S EXPEDITION. 



309 



CHAPTER XXXIII. 

philip's expedition. 

BOYS are very useful in travelling. A boy is often worth as 
much as what is called a courier. For a boy eats his meals 
quickly ; then, if his mother is good-natured, he slips away from table 
early, and he is apt to be in the courtyard, or in the street, picking 
up useful information. A boy always knows what all the other 
parties in the hotel are going to do. He always hears where all 
the other people have come from. It was thus that it happened, after 
they had been back in Jerusalem some time, that Phil and Tommy 
picked up some interesting items of information on the afternoon 
that the grown people were dining with the Belgian Consul. 
Dining with the Belgian Consul meant that with endless difficul- 
ties, they were all trying to imitate European life as well as they 
could; for four hours- they all were talking French, which was not 
the native language of any of them, except the Consul; and 
were, in short, separating themselves as far as they could from 
that Eastern life, and from those religious associations which they 
had come so far to enjoy. Phil and Tommy, meanwhile, partly 
under the guidance of Hassan, partly with the counsel of a small 
boy belonging to the hotel, but mostly by that light which kindly 
nature gives to all who are born into this world, were, for themselves, 
running to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem, and noticing 
twenty little odd details of Jerusalem life, which never, — then, or 
afterwards, — came under the eyes of the elders. 

Thus employed, they fell in with a Swedish boy, older than Tommy, 
but not so old as Phil, named Erik Kullberg. The Swedish boy 
spoke some bad German, and a little bad French. Phil spoke both 



oTO 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVEE EGYPT AND SYKIA. 



languages tolerably well, so they got along together very comfortably 
Enk proved to be the son of a Swedish gentleman who was in 
Jerusalem, and it afterwards proved that this gentleman was a 




SYCHAR. 



literary man of distinction, and a near friend of some Swedish 
fnends of Mr. Hervey's. But this had nothing to do with the 
acquaintance which the boys formed, or with what grew out of it 
Fortunately, indeed, boys are not so particular as their fathers 




IN THE PORCH OF THE TEMPLE. 



PHILIP'S EXPEDITION. 313 

and mothers are about letters of introduction. The boys went off 
together. Erik showed Phil some of his discoveries in the little 
city, and Phil showed Erik some of his. The boys became quite 
intimate before night, and Erik told Phil what were his father's 
plans for the end of the week. Mr. Kullberg was an Oriental 
scholar, and was particularly desirous to see the Samaritans in 
their little fastness. Their temple and village are at Nablous, which 
is the present name of Sychar, or Sychem, as the same city is 
called in the Bible. The city is spoken of as Sychem in the Old 
Testament, and Sychar in the New. 

So Mr. Kullberg had letters of introduction to the Samaritan 
priests, and his party were going to spend two or three days at 
Nablous. 

Nablous, as Mr. Hervey afterwards explained to Phil, is only the 
Arab way of pronouncing Neapolis. And Phil knew Greek enough 
to know that Neapolis was Greek for New Town. The truth is, 
that at some time, when the Romans were here, some new town 
was built where the old Sychem was. The place is the same as 
Shechem, where Joseph's brethren fed their flocks, but, at that 

time, there was no city 
there. 

After the boys parted, Phil 
took Bessie into his counsels, 
and while they were waiting 
for their father and mother to 
return from the dinner, they 
looked in Mr. Hervey's little 
collection of Early Travels, 
to see what they could find 
about Nablous and Sychar. 
Phil did not worry himself 
much about the recent trav- 
els ; he said he could gen- 
erally find what he wanted in the old books, and that they were 
much shorter. Well, as early as the year 1103, an Anglo-Saxon 




GATE AT NABLOUS. 



314 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA, 

pilgrim named Seawaulf, went to Sychem. All he says about it is 
this : 

" The city of Nazareth of Galilee, where the blessed Virgin Mary 
received the salutation of our Lord's nativity from the angel, is 
about four days' journey from Jerusalem, the road lying through 
Sychem, a city of Samaria, which is now called Neapolis, where 
St. John the Baptist received sentence of decollation from Herod. 
There also is the well of Jacob, where Jesus, weary with his 
journey, thirsty, and sitting upon the well, condescended . to ask 
water of the Samaritan woman who came thither to draw it, as 
we read in the Gospel." 

Then, in the same book, Phil found the travels of a Spanish 
Jew, named Benjamin, from the city of Tudela. Of course the Jew 
did not care for Christian memories. But Jacob's Well was as 
much to him as to any one. He came to Nablous in the year 
1 163, and this is what he says: 

" It is two parasangs further to Nablous, the ancient Sychem, on 
Mount Ephraim. This place contains no Jewish inhabitants, and is 
situated in the valley between Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal. 
Four parasangs from thence is situated Mount Gilboa. The coun- 
try in this part is very barren. Five parasangs farther is the 
Valley of Ajalon, called, by the Christians, Val de Luna." 

Philip was well pleased to find " parasangs" in any book but 
his Xenophon. It is a Persian measure, which he had met with 
in his Xenophon's Anabasis. He was also quite excited by the 
idea that the Christians had called the Valley of Ajalon the " Moon's 
Valley." The natives of the country now call it the Valley of 
Yalo. 

Sir John Mandeville's travels were also in this book of Mr. 
Hervey's, which was called Early Travels in Palestine, edited by 
Thomas Knight. He has been called the prince of liars, but his 
journey in Palestine seems to be told with seriousness, and with 
as much intelligence as one expects from such a traveller. Philip 
found that he went to Sichar, as he spelled it, in 1322, two 
hundred years after the Jew Benjamin. " There is a very fair and 



PHILIP'S EXPEDITION. 31 ? 
fruitful vale," he said, "and there is a fair and good city called 
Neapolis, whence it is a day's journey to Jerusalem. And there 
is the well where our Lord spake to the woman of Samaria: 
and there was wont to be a church, but it is beaten down. 
Beside that well, King Rehoboam caused two calves to be made 
of gold, and caused them to be worshipped, and put the one at 
Dan and the other at Bethel. A mile from Sichar is the city 
of Deluze, in which Abraham dwelt a certain time. " 

Turning on further in the book, Philip found Henry MaundreU's 






RUINS OF THE CITY OF SAMARIA. 



account of his visit to the same place in 1697. He found Naplous, 
as he called it, in a very mean condition ; and about a third of 
an hour from Naplous, he came to Jacob's Well, "famous," he says, 
"not only upon account of its author, hut much more for that 
memorable conference which our blessed Saviour here had with 
the woman of Samaria." He says, also, that there stood formerly 



318 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

over the Well a large church, and that it was " erected by that great 
and devout patroness of the Holy Land, the Empress Helena." But 
of this the veracity of time, assisted by the hand of the Turks, has 
left nothing but a few foundations remaining. 

By the time the Belgian dinner-party was well over, the party of 
grown people found Phil had coached himself up very well on Sama- 
ria, Sychar, and the Well of Jacob. As soon as he had helped his 
mother to disrobe, had ordered a cup of coffee for her, and had 
heard her " tell her times," as was the custom in the Horner family, 
he brought forward his information about the Swedish family, and 
what a nice fellow Erik Kullberg proved to be. Then, step by step, 
he explained what the Kullbergs' excursion to Sychar was to be, 
and how the travellers would pass through the Valley of the Moon. 

The elder people were interested in his animated account of the 
rise and fall of Nablous, as the old pilgrims found it in different cen- 
turies. Mrs. Horner, who cared little for other guide-books than her 
Bible, remembered very well that St. John says that the Saviour 
was "wearied with his journey" when he came there. And she 
boldly said so. Philip had fully learned that Mrs. Kullberg was to ride 
an Arab trained for a lady, which was, in fact, the pet saddle horse 
of the sister to the physician of the uncle of the bishop of Jerusalem. 

Phil did not propose that their party should go to Sychar, though 
this was in his heart. The reader knows that Phil was a philos- 
opher. He had already found out that older people do not like to 
be led by the nose, or in any way advised by their children. But 
he had also found out that if the proper crumbs were thrown be- 
fore them, they would frequently go in quest of those crumbs from 
what they called their own free will. 

In this case, the desire of Phil's heart was none the less accom- 
plished. As the gentlemen sat smoking on the veranda, in the 
twilight, Mr. Horner said to Mr. Hervey, that the excursion of the 
Kullbergs was just the sort of excursion to complete their knowl- 
edge of Syria. 

"To' tell you the truth, Hervey," said he, "I can remember 
when I was a boy at Sunday-school, that the coming out square 



PHILIP'S EXPEDITION. 319 

on that account of drawing water, and being thirsty, and the road 
having to go through Samaria, was always a satisfaction to me. It 
was what Dr. Hall would call the ' natural love of a concrete or 
visible reality.' I wish we could hitch on to this Swedish party 
without annoying them." 

Well, of course they could join the party. Any small company of 
real ladies and gentlemen in that country, is glad to join any other 
small company ; and so it was easily enough settled by the bankers 
and the consuls, and the missionaries and clergymen, who take care 
of the travellers in Jerusalem, that the Swedish party and the Amer- 
ican party should go to Jacob's Well and Nablous together. Mr. Her- 
vey naturally accompanied them, as his course was the same. More- 
over, Mr. Hervey, in the same talk with Mr. Horner, obtained a further 
gratification for Philip, which the boy had never dreamed of asking. 

"Let him go with me as far as Damascus," he said; and this 
was assented to, with the usual routine of unwillingness at first, 
and final assent from the tender mother. 




Philip's guides 



320 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYKXA, 



CHAPTER XXXIV. 

NABLOUS. 

AS before, they made their first day's march in the afternoon, and 
encamped only a little way from their starting place. 
This is the favorite plan of the Arabs, who say that you should 
be only half an hour out of the city, the first night, so that you 
may ride back for any thing you may have forgotten. 

Mr. Kullberg had too much experience to forget any thing, but he 
acceded to the custom of the country so far, that the little party 
rode only three hours the first day. They stopped at a place which 
the Arabs called Beitin, which is supposed to be the Bethel of 
the Bible. The road was pretty rough, and passed over quite high 
tableland. But there were a plenty of waddys on the right, or on 
the left, and Bessie selected one and another as they passed as the 
valley of Ajalon. She was sure, she said, that the Moon would 
have been glad to stand there. But this was all wrong, for Yalo, 
which Benjamin of Tudela thought was Ajalon, is at the north of 
Bethel, and, of course, they would not see it till the next day. 
This Philip learnedly explained to her. But Bessie had already 
discovered the ecstasy of starting new theories in a country where 
so little is very certain. Half an hour before sunset, they alighted 
in a valley near Beitin. They had time to survey the ruins : the 
walls of a church, and the remains of a square tower. But one of 
the most important and significant of all, was a large cistern built 
of massive, well-hewn stones. The southern wall is still entire. 
The northern wall has been used up as a quarry. 

Those on the sides are partly preserved. Two living springs of 
good water flow out from the bottom, which is a green grass-plot 



NABLOUS. 323 

Here they found their tents prettily pitched, even the Swedish 
and American flags flying over them, and their dear little beds on 
iron bedsteads, ready for the ladies to recline. 

The dragoman obtained excellent milk and butter from some Arabs 
who had pitched their tents in the neighborhood. This was so good 
as to do credit to the choice of Abraham when he chose the high 
ground eastward of this spot to pitch his tents, having the whole 
of Palestine to choose from. — Genesis xii. 8. 

Before they went to bed, Miss Lejeune read to them from the 
Bible, the account of Jacob's vision 
at this place, when he saw the 
angels ascending and descending 
between earth and heaven. 

The next morning they started 
about half past eight, and after a 
hard day's journey, they reached 
Nablous before dark, the same even- 
ing. Whether they saw the Valley 
of Ajalon they never knew, but 
they did pass through Wady-el-tin, 
which means the valley of figs. 
A beautiful grove of trees it was. 

When they came to Nablous, 
although the officials asked them 
very cordially to partake of their 
hospitalities, the young, people 
thought they should prefer still to 
live in the tents. But Mrs. Hor- 
ner and Mrs. Kullberg found them- 
selves more comfortable in Ody- 
azams's home, which is a sort of 

CYLINDER CONTAINING THE PENTATEUCH. 

hotel. They had a nice, cosey 

room, and in the evening the gentlemen received some visits from 
official gentlemen and others. 

For the next two days they were occupied in many interesting 




324 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

excursions. They saw the little school which the English mission- 
aries have founded for Christians, and Miss Lejeune was delighted 
to find that the children were taught to do something with their 
hands. 

She made their teacher, Mons. Zeller, write a letter to her . 
friend Mrs. Vandoline, who is very much interested in what is 
called technical education. 

But what they had come to see, was the little community of 
Samaritans, which now numbers about two hundred persons. It 
seems to be the oldest religious community in the world, which 
has lived on without change, in the home, as well as in the 
worship, of its ancestors. It was to study this people that their 
Swedish friends had planned the party, and, of course, our 
friends fell into the same interests. The Samaritan quarter of 
Nablous is a little cluster of houses, two stories high, crowded 
close together. Mr. Kullberg led them up a steep stone stairway 
into an open court, where was a beautiful lemon-tree. They were 
to go into the synagogue, and so they took their shoes from 
off their feet and went into the simple, unadorned building. 
This modest place was, all the same, the temple of these ancient 
people. The "veil of the Temple" was a square curtain of linen, 
ornamented with lines of red, and purple, and green, forming a 
beautiful pattern. Miss Lejeune copied the design carefully, that 
she might send it home. When she had finished, the dear old 
priest Selameh drew it aside, trembling, and brought out some of 
the precious manuscripts which are among the most curious in the 
world. The gentlemen studied these with the greatest interest, and 
the children were glad to be told of a book of Joshua, quite 
different from our book of Joshua, which begins with the stories 
of the spies whom Rahab had defended, and ends with anecdotes 
of Alexander the Great. 

But the great event of all was the visit they made to Jacob's 
Well, It was this, in fact, which had first inflamed Phil's desire 
that they should all come here. Phil remembered very well that 
when he was a Sunday-school boy there was a painted picture, bright 



NABLOUS. 325 

with green grass, and red and blue daisies, which represented the 
Saviour sitting by the side of the well, and a woman standing by him 
with a pitcher on her head. To Phil's infant mind, this had been 
by far the most edifying of all the pictures, and now that he had a 
chance, he was delighted to see the reality. Mr. Kullberg's arrange- 
ments were such that they were able to go under the very best 
auspices. By great good luck, they had with them Yakub-esh-Shellaby, 
who is probably the only person living who has ever been down into 
the Well itself. He was then a boy twelve years of age. Some gen- 
tlemen who had taken him there, wanted to rescue a Bible which had 
been dropped in six years before by Dr. Bonar. So they took the 
little boy, with his own consent, gave him some little sticks, which 




VALLEY OF SYCHEM. 



were the first lucifer matches he had ever seen, and lowered him 
down by tying four camel ropes and two turban shawls together. 
The little fellow found the Bible, and brought it back in triumph. 

Over the Well itself, is an old stone vault, into which adven- 
turous travellers can easily be let down. Mr. Kullberg and the 
other gentlemen entered it, and it need not be said the boys 
accompanied them. The gentlemen had with them proper facilities 



326 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

for removing the flat stone at the bottom of this vault, which 
covers the proper Well. They told Tommy that if he liked, they 
would lower him down in the same way in which Yakub had 
gone. 

But Tommy said he was satisfied with Yakub' s account, and 




RAM AH. 



declined. They did lower down a stone jug, and were fortunate 
enough to draw it up well-filled with water. All in silence, and, 
with a reverence which no one pretended to disguise, the whole 
party drank from the water afterwards, as they sat resting against 
an old' granite column. 

Miss Lejeune read to the children the first fifteen verses of the 
fourth chapter of John. Then their father reminded them how the 
Samaritans begged the Saviour to abide with them, and believed 
on him because of his own word. He showed them that this was 
the first company of people who ever did believe on the Saviour. 
It was the first Christian congregation, or Church. In that sense, 



NABLOUS. 327 

he said, this was the place where the Christian Church first took 
its form, — the Christian Church which has secured so great a power 
in the world. He told them never to forget that that Church was 
formed where Jesus said that God is a spirit, and they that worship 
him must worship him in spirit and in truth, and was formed by 
people who had heard him themselves, and believed in his word. 

The children took all he said seriously and thoughtfully. They 
had time afterwards to visit what is called Joseph's Tomb. From 
the place where they had their lunch, by the side of the Well, they 
had an exquisite view of Ebal and Gerizim. Against a beau- 
tiful blue sky, the hills, by which they were surrounded, stood 
clearly out. Half-way up Mount Ebal, they saw a large village 
called Tulluzah, supposed to be the ancient city Tirzah. They could 
hardly distinguish the houses from the rough masses of rocks and 
huge stone boulders. The village is almost surrounded by vineyards 
and olive groves. 

The day was eminently satisfactory, and at night Mrs. Horner 
thanked Phil in form, for giving them so much pleasure. And here they 
separated, after two impressive days, Phil and Mr. Hervey going 
on to Damascus, while the others returned to Jerusalem, varying 
a little from their route in coming. They saw one of the Ramahs, 
for most of the old places are uncertain ; and they saw a place 
supposed to be Gideon. And plenty of valleys were shown the 
children as the Valley of Ajalon. And they came to their dear 
Jerusalem in time to see its domes and cupolas as the sun went 
down. 



328 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



CHAPTER XXXV. 

POOR MARY ! 

THE return from Jerusalem to Jaffa was sedately performed by 
the diminished party. There was much to think over, and 
the regret at so soon leaving Palestine gave a sort of seriousness 
to their thoughts. The absence of Philip and Mr. Hervey made 
a wide gap. Tommy was promoted to the post of second gentle- 
man in waiting, and felt his dignity, accordingly. Added to other 
causes for a quiet mood, was the physical fatigue which naturally 
followed so many days spent in the saddle, and. nights in the tent. 
In fact, they were all extremely tired as they came into Jaffa, the 
hoofs of the horses clattering over the stony lane leading down-stairs 
to the hotel, through the steep street. 

It was not surprising that they were all tired ; but every one was 
seriously alarmed when Mary, as she was lifted from her horse, 
fainted into her father's arms. 

She was carried at once into a room on the lower floor of the 
hotel. Fresh air, cologne, salts, cold water, were all administered, 
and in a very few moments she recovered herself, opened her eyes 
and smiled, and seeing the anxious faces about her, exclaimed feebly : 
" Why ! what is the matter with me ! " 

" It is nothing, dear child, but the fatigue ; you were too tired," 
said Miss Lejeune, always courageous and cheerful. 

" Oh, yes, that was it," said Mary ; " I felt so dreadfully tired the 
last part. I thought we should never reach Jaffa." 

"Well, I declare!" remarked Miss Spark, who never knew 
fatigue. 

As soon as it was announced that rooms were ready, that energetic 



POOR MARY. 329 

woman armed herself with wraps ant} straps, and led the way. Mr. 
Horner lifted Mary and carried her to her room, where she was 
soon in bed, and comfortably resting. Miss Spark installed herself 
as nurse. 

"There ain't any thing about sickness that I don't know," she 




GARDEN OUTSIDE OF JAFFA. 



said, " though I never had so much as a toothache in my life. You 
all of you just go down and eat your tea, and I will sit here and see 
to her." 

Miss Augusta reluctantly yielded the place by the bedside to 
the valiant nurse ; but it was useless to discuss the matter. 
Mrs. Horner was worried as well as tired, and all the cheerful- 
ness of Miss Lejeune was needed to brighten the spirits of the 
small dinner-table. 



.330 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

Mary slept ill, and showed §ome symptoms of fever, but as Jaffa 
was no place to linger long, it was thought best to keep to their 
intention of taking the French boat to Beyrout, which was ex- 
pected to call at Jaffa about noon that day. 

Some people in the hotel were going to visit an orange-garden in 
the morning, and they kindly invited Tommy, who would otherwise 
have passed a dull day, to join them. For the first time, he ate 
his fill of delicious large oranges, and was amazed to find that he 
really could not get through more than five. This was doing 
better than most, though the party had permission to pick and eat 
as many as 4 they pleased. 

These oranges were not the shape of the earth, flattened at the 
poles, but longer than wide, without seeds, and full of juice. There 
were lemon-trees in the same garden, and an insipid sort of thing 
called a sweet lemon, lacking the acid -of other lemons, but miss- 




LEAVING JAFFA. 



ing the flavor of the orange. Tommy brought back pockets burst- 
ing with fruit for Bessie, who had preferred to stay behind, and 
a handful of flowers for poor Mary, who was hardly up to enjoy- 
ing them. 

Again they had to pass through the rocky rampart of the harbor 
in small boats, and climb the side of the steamer which lay snorting 
and tossing outside. Mary, still giddy, was helped up by Mr. Horner 



POOK MARY! 331 

and Hassan, and hastened at once to the cabin. The deck was cov- 
ered with pilgrims returning from Mecca, picturesque, but dirty. 
The ladies, however, had the cabin to themselves, and when they 
woke up the next morning, they found themselves in the harbor at 
Beyrout. The hotel faces directly on the sea, and they were soon 
comfortably installed. 

It is impossible that a city should be more beautiful than Bey- 
rout. It stands on a promontory running along the base of the 
Lebanon into the Mediterranean. Facing toward the west, it has 
the advantage over cities on the north or south shores of that 
sea, of looking directly across it to the setting sun. The town is 
composed of a dense mass of substantial buildings, with a broad 
margin of picturesque villas, embowered in foliage, running up the 
surrounding hills, — mulberry groves, dotted with groups of palm 
and cypress. 

After the barren plains of Palestine, where a chance fig-tree or 
olive make the only foliage, this burst of verdure is most delight- 
ful. It should be seen in spring, when its richness is at the 
full. 

It is a town with a large population, of which the greater part 
are strangers, — English and Americans, — who have done much to 
advance the cause of education in the East. 

The Homers found themselves as comfortable as possible in the 
admirable hotel, which is not only well-kept, but as prettily planned 
as a private house, and charmingly situated just outside the town, 
so close to the sea that through the open windows came the 
sound of plashing waves. 

Mary was no sooner in bed than medical advice was summoned. 
To the great relief of all, Doctor Grant proved to be a physician of 
intelligence and skill from England. He pronounced Mary's case one 
of over fatigue. All she needed was rest and quiet ; although feverish, 
she had no alarming symptoms, and a week or ten days would, he 
thought, bring her round. 

Mrs. Horner, who, with maternal despondency, had feared some 
long, lingering illness, found only comfort in this announcement; 



332 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



but when Miss Spark heard the intelligence from Miss Lejeune, who 
came out of the sick room to tell her, she exclaimed: 

" A week or ten days ! The land ! Why, you calculated to be 

all through Damas- 
cus by that time ! " 

Before Miss Le- 
jeune had time to 
reply, there was a 
tap at the door of 
the private parlor 
where they were sit- 
ting. Bessie went 
to open it, and Mrs. 
Ford stood in the 
doorway. 

This was a de- 
lightful surprise, 
easily explained. Af- 
ter a short stay at 
Cairo, the Fords 
had decided to move 
on to Bey rout, of 
which they had 
heard a charming- 
description as to 
climate and posi- 
tion. They had 
been there already 
more than a week, 
enjoying the drives 
in the neighborhood, and the comfort of the hotel. 

The presence of these old friends, as all considered them, made 
the prospect of a week at Beyrout not only tolerable, but attractive ; 
but there were difficulties in the way. Mr. Hervey and Philip, who 
would arrive in Damascus toward the end of the week, would expect 




DOCTOR GRANT. 



POOli MARY ! 333 

to meet their party. To be sure, it was easy to write to them 
and explain, but not so easy to decide upon the best course. 

A council was held in the evening, and the various chiefs of 
the party proposed various schemes, each one suggesting some form 
of self-sacrifice, disapproved by the others. Not that a wish to stay 
with Mary showed any grave self-sacrifice, for none cared to leave 
her while there was the slightest cause for anxiety. 

At last Miss Lejeune said : 

"Let us wait and see how Mary is to-morrow. There is no 
cause for haste, and we are all in need of rest. We may just 
as well stay here for a clay or two, in any case." 

This advice was wise, and was acted upon. The next day 
Mary's- fever had left her, and she w r as refreshed and cheery, 
although languid ; after another day she was able to leave her 
bed. The doctor still advised her having 'a thorough rest, however, 
and it seemed altogether best that she should not attempt the 
journey to Damascus. Mrs. Horner announced from the first, that 
she should remain quietly with Mary, while the rest went on by 
diligence, according to the original plan. Miss Lejeune resisted 
this resolve, saying that she wished to be the one left behind. 
This made a dead-lock, for unlike the usual compliance of each, 
neither wished to yield. Mary had not been allowed to hear any 
of the consultations upon this question, but she was quite well 
enough to turn it over in her own mind. 

Things were in this state, when, one afternoon, Miss Spark was 
sitting by Mary's side, whose couch was drawn near the window 
of her large and pleasant room. It opened a deux battants upon a 
charming garden, where large purple irises were now in blossom, 
and other flowers whose sweet perfume floated in on the soft air. 
This was at the back of the house, but they heard the faint plash 
of the waves on the other side. Mary was watching: a small 
chameleon which Tommy had caught himself, on a mulberry-tree. 
The creature was tethered to the ledge of the window, by a red 
ribbon tied round its waist. It was a small green animal, with a 
big head and sprawling legs, between a frog and a lizard in shape, 



834 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

with projecting, top-shaped eyes, that had the power of turning their 
glance in every direction. Its color was a light bright-green, 
which changed to a shade approaching black when it was dis- 
pleased, as by the tying process. The extreme variation of color 
ascribed to the chameleon must be an exaggeration. 

"Now tell me, Miss Spark," said Mary, " what are your plans?" 

"Well, that's exactly what I want to discuss." she replied. ".I 
can make you see better than the rest of them, through being in 
the same tent, and so forth. I don't want to worry you, but I 
want you to make them all go on to Damascus, and let me stay 
here and tend you. We get along first-rate, and they can enjoy 
themselves. Then I shall feel kind of as if I had wiped out some 
of my obligations to your father, — though I could never do that,, 
either, — for taking me along." 

" But do you not want to see Damascus ? " 

"Well, not precisely. You see it is not exactly in the line of 
the Holy Land, which was all. I was to write up for the Elucidatory 

Mary pondered, at last assented, and, what was more, convinced 
the rest. She had the Fords to fall back upon. It was too bad 
to separate papa and mamma. The difficult question was solved,, 
and its solution was due to Miss Spark. 



BEYROUT. 



335 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 

BEYROUT. 



AS Mary was still delicate, and must not be disturbed in the 
early morning, farewells were taken the night before the 




BEYROUT. 



start. Miss Spark was established upon a couch in Mary's room, 
while Bessie slept with Miss Lejeune. 

When Mary awoke and looked at her watch, it was nearly ten 
o'clock. With a slight pang at her heart, she recollected that she 



336 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

was alone, — for the first time in her life separated from all the 
members of her family ; for many a pleasant trip with Miss Lejeune 
was no exception to this, so completely was she the "Aunt Dut" 
of the Horner children. 

Before she had time to dwell upon this thought, however, a tap 
came at her door, and the faithful Miss Spark entered with coffee 
and rolls on a tray, for both of them. 

"See!" she said, "I waited to eat my breakfast with you, but 
I was ' up long ago. The doctor has been, but he did not wish 
you disturbed, as he had only to say that you might drive out 
to-day, and he is coming for us himself, at eleven, to show us 
one of his favorite views. 

."How nice!" said Mary languidly; "but how shall I ever be 
.dressed ? " Hitherto, since her little illness, she had put on nothing 
more serious than a wrapper ; and the thought of dressing seemed 
arduous ; this showed how weak she was, and how much her attack 
of fever had pulled her down. 

Fortified by coffee, however, and tempted by the sweet air that 
blew in from the window, she was all ready, and sitting on the 
piazza of the hotel which overlooks the sea, when the doctor 
appeared in a pleasant little open carriage. 

" I shall not take you far to-day, Miss Horner," said the pleas- 
ant Doctor Grant, "nor fatigue you with any lions. We will just 
drive about, and give you an idea of the pretty neighborhood." 
Accordingly, after pleasant turnings among the fresh green of the 
fig-trees, they gained a high point, where they looked clown upon 
the verdure of the Lebanon ; terraces of green wheat-fields, long 
ranges of vines, and mulberry and fig-trees, made a charming scene. 

Coming back, the doctor pointed out a place where St. George 
destroyed the dragon, some say on the very spot, others that he 
came there to wash his hands in the stream after it. , 

"But we saw another place, on the Rhine, I think;" said Mary. 
"St. George must have slain two dragons." 

"We must not take too' seriously these myths," replied the doc- 
tor. "It is very possible there was no dragon whatever about it." 



BEY ROUT. 339 

After two or three days, Mary was so entirely recovered that the 
attentions of her doctor were no longer required professionally, 
though he continued them through friendliness. The time the others 




IN" THE GARDEN". 



were absent slipped rapidly by. Having the Fords at Beyrout was 
a wonderful piece of good luck. Mary became more intimate with 
Miss Mackaye, and liked her very much ; she did not fail to observe 
that her sister and Mr. Ford were always anxious about her health, 
which seemed not to gain much by any change. She was delicate, 
with not much appetite, but always cheerful and uncomplaining. 
They passed many hours together upon the balcony of the hotel, 
looking across the Mediterranean, or reading on a bench in the vine- 



340 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

embowered garden. Every evening the sunset viewed from that 
point was superb. 

One day, before Mary was quite strong, she was lying upon the 
couch in her room, after sleeping for some time, and Miss Spark 
was sitting in the window sewing buttons upon Mary's boots, in 
the most friendly manner. She was always doing little things of 
this sort, and in every silent way expressing her devotion. 

" Miss Spark," said Mary, then pausing. 

" Well, dear." 

" I hate that green dress of yours ! " 

Miss Spark looked up surprised, 
but not offended. Mary was priv- 
ileged ; she knew it, and took her 
advantage. 

"You do?" said Miss Spark. 
" Well, I suppose it ain't hand- 
some, and it is pretty well wore out, 
too. We bought it, my grandmother 
and me, — she has excellent judg- 
ment, — very low, of a pale sort of 
pink, because it did not sell well, 
and we dyed It ourselves, grandma 
and me ; it turned out lighter than 
we calculated, but I always did like 
green." 

"What I was thinking of," con- 
tinued Mary, " was, that we have 
so much time here, we might 
make you another suit. You can 
buy things here, flannel like mine, 
I dare say. Do not you like my dress ? " 
" Well, I declare ! " said Miss Spark. 

" I want to give it to you," Mary hastened to say, " and I know 
we can cut it out like mine." 

"There's no occasion for you to pay for it," said Miss Spark, "for 




BEYROUT. m 

your father was so liberal, treating me to this whole trip, I feel as 
though I'd had my eake and ate it too." 

Alary had her way, however, about paying for the stuff, which 
was bought and cut out after deep consultation with the Eng- 
lish ladies, who were taken into the plan. All their needles 
were brought to bear, and the result was a radical transforma- 
tion in the appearance of Miss Spark, before the return of the 
Damascus branch of our party. The most wonderful part was, 
that Mary persuaded her to alter her style of hair, and with her 
own hands showed her how to make a sort of top-knot come 
down into a low braid at the back of her head. 

One day at dinner, Mr. Ford said, in jest, " There is an American 
sailing-vessel in port here, Miss Mary. If you liked, you might 
return home in that way." 

" Is there, really ? " asked Mary. "I always thought I should like 
a voyage in a sailing vessel. How long does it take, I won- 
der? " 

" Three months," said Mr. Ford. 

Mary shook her head. "It would be too much time to waste," 
she said, " especially the lovely summer months, on board ship. 
Even I do not love the sea well enough for that." 

Miss Spark ate her dinner in silence, but afterwards she approached 
Mr. Ford, and in the elegant diction which she used except in 
private, she said : 

" Sir, may I venture to inquire if the craft you referred to in 
your conversation, has an actual existence?" 

"It is no figment of my fancy," replied Mr. Ford, smiling.^ "It 
is the Sally Ann, and is bound for Portland." 

" I thank you for relieving my apparently unwarrantable curiosity," 
replied Miss Spark, and, to him, said no more ; but later she con- 
fided to Mary that she was thinking of going back to America in 
the Sally Ann. 

"You see, dear," she said, "my mission is accomplished. I've 
done the Holy Land for the Elucidator, and they have no call for 
secular travel. More than likely, the price is cheap on that sailing- 



342 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

vessel. Anyhow, I mean to see the captain. Maybe he's some of 
our folks." 

Mr. Ford, when he found she was in earnest, gladly pursued the 
subject, and hunted up Captain Wallace, who proved to be an 
excellent specimen of a Down-East sea-captain. He had known all 
the Sparks time out of mind, and he would be delighted to give 
a passage "free gratis for nothing, to any on 'em." It was fine to 
hear the two conversing in their own vernacular. The captain's wife 
was on board, having made the trip out of curiosity, and "she would 
be extra pleased to have a female on board," the captain said. 

Thus all was arranged most harmoniously. The best of it was, 
that the vessel, which had but just arrived, would not be ready 
for her return trip for at least a week, so that Miss Spark could 
retain to the last her watchful guardianship over Mary, which she 
had assumed in the absence of her rightful protectors. As a 
nurse, she was no longer required, for Mary appeared as bright 
and well as ever, and equal to any thing. She longed for a bath 
in the Mediterranean, but this was not allowed by her keepers, 
Doctor Grant not thinking it prudent, although the weather was 
now growing almost as warm as summer. 

" I know Bessie will have a swim the minute she arrives here," 
said Mary ; " she is making a list of places where she has 
bathed, in all parts of the world." 

" Well, I do declare ! " exclaimed Miss Spark. 

Mr. Ford persuaded Doctor Grant to go with him to visit the 
celebrated ruins at Baalbec, and he was the only person, at all 
connected with our party, who achieved this interesting excursion ; 
for the Damascus travellers, as it proved, had not time for it on 
their return. The Temple at Baalbec is a specimen of Grecian 
architecture, surpassing those of Athens in dimensions, though not 
equal to them in classic taste and purity of style. 

There is no hotel at Baalbec. The two gentlemen went one day 
and returned the next with two guides, and literally camped out, 
sleeping in their blankets in the open air. 

Baalbec means the same as Heliopolis, or City of the Sun, and 



BEYROUT. 345 

the city, like its namesake in Egypt, was consecrated to the worship 
of the sun. It is unknown at what period it was founded, but it 
is probably of Phoenician origin. Up to the seventh century it was 
a large and flourishing city, but it has gradually declined until its 
temples have become ruins, and its few inhabitants live in squalid 
houses among the prostrate remains of ancient palaces. 
Every one who has been in the East, is asked : 




CEDARS OF LEBANON. 



"Did you go to Baalbec ? " and if the answer is no, then comes, 
"Oh, you ought to have gone to Baalbec!" 

It is a pity to lose it ; but it is a little difficult to fit in this 
excursion, and for their part, the Homers were becoming some- 
what surfeited with sight-seeing. 

Mary had grown so attached to Bey rout, that she dreamed of 
returning there for a whole winter sometime, for the climate, the 
sketching, and all the excursions in the neighborhood which she 



346 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

had missed. The wonderful cedars of Lebanon are worth an expe- 
dition, and the whole region of country as well. 

" Let us come back together some time, dear Miss Mackaye," 
said Mary. 

Her friend smiled sadly ; and Mary felt she ought not to have 
touched so delicate a question as the future plans of an invalid. 
The Fords next point was Smyrna, reached by steam from Beyrout. 




SMYRNA FROM THE SEA. 



TO DAMASCUS. 



349 



CHAPTER XXXVII. 



TO DAMASCUS. 



E must return to the Damascus part of our party. On 



V V the morning of departure by starlight, they softly stole out 
of their rooms and slipped away, and, long before sunrise, were 
bundled off in a lumbering vehicle upon the excellent diligence road 
towards Damascus. 

Miss Lejeune, who might truly be called an old stager, had 
made many a journey en diligence ; the last was the excursion 
she and Philip made to the Rhone glacier ; but, as it happened, 
she was the only one of the present party who was experienced 
in that mode of travel, so universally now in Europe has the 
railway carriage displaced the coach. 

The coupe, which holds but three, had been secured for them, and 
two good places in the interienr. The coupe was the best, and 
so it was agreed they should change from time to time. At three 
o'clock in the morning, it did not much signify to any of them 
where they were. Peace, and a soft place to lean against, were 
all Tommy demanded, and these he speedily found in his corner 
of the back seat, where he and his mother were established, while 
Miss Lejeune, and Bessie with her father, entered the coupe. So 
great, at first, was Bessie's amazement at the odd situation, look- 
ing out, underneath the driver's box, upon a confused mass of 
mules' legs and tails, that she felt wide awake ; but soon grow- 
ing used to the rumbling noise, and the steady motion of the 
vehicle, her head nodded. Every Horner had a morning nap. 

" There were six horses, only the behind ones were mules," said 
Tommy afterwards, in describing their equipment ; " three abreast, and 




350 A FAMILY FLIGHT OYER EGYPT AND SYKIA. 

they rattled over the road like every thing. When it was level, the 
driver made them go full gallop, and it was immense to see their 
heels fly up." 

This was later in the day, for the first part of the road is a 
steady ascent. The animals are changed eleven times on the course, 
— nearly once an hour, — and thus are always fresh and ready to 
press forward. 

After refreshing coffee at one of the early stopping-places, the 
party awoke to the beauty of the route ; a little snow still lingered 
in places, but hyacinths and tulips, and all manner of delicate 
flowers, dotted the fields. Sometimes they passed villages with long 
white walls. They had been riding all clay, and were growing 
stiff and tired, though the prospect of reaching Damascus before 
very long, kept up their spirits when they stopped for the last 
change of mules and horses. As they approached the station, they 
saw, without noticing, two horsemen waiting at the rude sort of 
stable where the animals for the diligence were kept. 

When the diligence stopped, these two riders jumped from their 
horses, and one of them, advancing, said: 

" Let me help you, Mrs. Horner ! Do not you mean to get 
down for a while ? " 

It was Mr. Hervey, and his companion was Philip, who had 
arrived in Damascus the day before, and, learning from the letters 
they found there, exactly where they might expect the party, they 
rode out to meet them. 

" How is Mary ? " was their first question, put by Mr. Hervey, 
with a grave face of anxiety. 

"All right!" said Bessie cheerfully. 

"Much better," said her mother, with more moderation, "but 
still we decided to leave her." 

" Yes, we feared you would," said Mr. Hervey. 
"Too bad ! " said Philip. 

"Now," said Mr. Hervey, "we have a plan on which you have 
but a moment to decide. The approach to Damascus is far more 
beautiful the way we came than by this diligence road. There are 



TO DAMASCUS. 353 

plenty of saddle-animals at this stable, and we want yon all to 
leave the coach and ride on with us .the other way." 

"Oh, we are too tired!" groaned poor Mrs. Horner, who thought 
she was done with her equestrian discipline ; " and it looks a little 
like rain." 

"Oh, no, mamma!" urged Bessie; and Tommy tugged at her 
hand, as if to lead her up to Philip's horse, which was pawing 
the ground in a formidable manner. 

" Let them go, Jeannie my dear, and you and I will stay by 
the shnb and attend to the baggage," said her husband. 

" The baggage will be all right," said Philip. 

" Your mamma is tired, and had rather not go," said his father, 
but added : 

" Augusta, which will you do ? Bessie, of course, goes with 
them." 

"Me too?" asked Tommy. 

" Yes, Mr. Piatt," replied his father. He was called this some- 
times in his family. 

" All aboard," or words to that effect, now recalled Mrs. 
Horner to her seat in the coupe. Mr. Horner joined her, and off 
they sped, the inside passengers drawing their heads back from 
the windows, where they had watched the meeting and colloquy 
of our friends with deep interest. As they were all of them 
Italians, Russians, or Syrians, they had not, it is probable, gathered 
much from the rapid talk they heard ; but the event enlightened 
them, when they saw the division of the party. 

Two horses were brought out for Miss Lejeune and Tommy, 
and a wonderful mule for Bessie, which she insisted upon having, 
in order to add one more to the list of animals she had mounted, 
in her repertoire. 

Two guides accompanied them, to take back the extra beasts. 
The day, which had been changeable, the sky covered with floating 
clouds, looked less promising ; but the ladies had their light unbrellas, 
and were not alarmed. 

The old road, which they were to take, crosses the shoulder of 



354 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

a high, bleak hill. As they zigzagged up the ascent, the rain began 
to patter down. Secure in her seat upon her apparently amiable 
steed, Bessie proceeded to open her umbrella in a guileless manner. 




DISTANT IIERMON. 



The mule threw up his hind legs with a sideways motion, and tossed 
her without a moment's notice, over his head. Her cheek brushed 
against Philip's horse, which was just in front of her steed, and 
down she came upon the hard gravel of the path. Every one 
sprang to her aid. She picked herself up, inquired for her hat and 



STARTING FOR NABLOUS. 



TO DAMASCUS. 357 

round comb, which had bounded off to quite a distance, and resumed 
her mule. She was not hurt in the least, only a little jarred. 
When Mr. Hervey was perfectly assured of this, he gave the signal 
to set forth again, but he kept close to Bessie's side. 

She burst at once into a merry bit of laughter, but with the 
laughing some tears mingled, and before she knew it she was crying. 

"It is too bad, dear," said Mr. Hervey tenderly. 

"I do not feel bad at all," sobbed Bessie. "Only, — only, — the 
tears were sort of shaken out of me." • 

Sunshine, however, came together upon her April face and the 
landscape. The rain was over, and the green leaves sparkled with 
bright drops. 

They heard the sound of a foaming river from a gorge on their 
right, but it was so narrow and deep that the stream was hidden 
from their sight. 

Half an hour afterward they came to a little domed wely, or 
temple, on a rocky ridge. And there Damascus and its plain burst 
upon their view, lovely, in the light of the approaching sunset. The 
superb scene was well worth the detour they had made. " The 
white swan," as the city is called, spread its broad wings before 
them, dotted with domes and minarets, on which shone golden 
crescents. At their feet wound the Abana, fertilizing- and enriching: 
its borders of glowing green, and the Pharpar was pointed out in 
the distance. This delicious luxurious verdure is most refreshing: 
to the eye after the barrenness of Judea. Peach-trees, pink with 
blossoms, mingle with the fresh, tender green of the new summer 
foliage, while the darker tints of the olive, and the pointed tops 
of dark cypresses, give depth and effect. 

Every one is bound to exclaim, looking at this panorama for 
the first time, — 

"Are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than 
all the waters of Israel?" 

Meanwhile the diligence pursued its more steady course into the 
city. This approach is also lovely, for the road runs actually 
through the river bed of the Abana, which brawls and rushes on 



358 A FAMILY FLIGHT OYER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

either side of it, willows bending over the stream, and hedges 
white with blossoms at intervals. 

The only hotel in Damascus is that of Dimitri 's, a name well-known 
to all travellers there. It is a marvellous Oriental building, sur- 
rounding a courtyard, as did the one at Jerusalem, but far more 
like Persia than any place they had seen. Tall orange and lemon- 
trees, with the fruit hanging upon them, grew in the courtyard, 
and water was running in a basin with gold fishes swimming in 
it. The court was laid in mosaic ; rounded stone stairways went 
up to a balcony running all round it, out of which the rooms 
led, of which the windows looked only down upon the court, the 
walls upon the street being blank and windowless. The walls and 
ceilings of the Homers' rooms were tapestried with wood painted 
pink, and green, and every bright color in a Persian pattern, with 
texts in Arabic, from the Koran, over the door. Bessie said she felt 
as if she were sleeping in a tea-chest turned wrong side in. 

The diligence arrived first, but while Mrs. Horner was still wait- 
ing in a sort of general parlor leading from the court, a bustle was 
heard of fresh arrivals, also the voices of the equestrian party. 

" Why, Bessie," she exclaimed in alarm, as soon as she saw her 
daughter, " what has happened to you ? " 

The child looked, to be sure, as though she had met with some 
accident. Her braids hung down her back, her hat was knocked 
in, and a huge patch of mud still stuck to her usually neat trav- 
elling dress. The adventure was soon explained, and was treated 
as a joke instead of a mishap. 

"Poor Bessie," said her father, "you have no lack in your mon- 
tures\ First a camel, and now a mule." 

" No matter," said Bessie, shaking her head. " I ride very well, 
only I am so light I fly off very easily." 

" Not like Mrs. Stuyvesant, whose donkey sat down with her," 
said Philip. 

"Did it?" demanded Miss Lejeune. 

" Yes ; at Beni-Hassan. It was a very small donkey. After 
that, Hassan gave her a bigger one always." 



THE SEA OF GALILEE. 



359 



CHAPTER XXXVIII. 

THE SEA OF GALILEE. 

THE massacre at Damascus, in i860, of the Christian popula- 
tion by the fierce and bloody sect called Druses, and con- 
nived at, if not encouraged, by the treacherous Turkish government, 
still leaves its impress upon the city. It is yet referred to as 




BY THE SEA. 



"Tevenement" by the Syrians who speak French. It was indeed the 
event of the time. The Christian houses which were then destroyed 
have been even yet not all rebuilt, and the magnificence of former 
days is lost. Feelings of distrust and hatred still remain in the 
hearts of the Christians towards the Mohammedans, which are likely 
to remain while Turkey rules over Syria. But the weakened power 
of the Turk, and the control of civilized Europe, is mitigating the 
evil. 

Damascus was already a noted place in the days of Abraham, 
and was long the warlike rival of Israel. For three centuries it 
was the residence of the kings of Syria ; in every period of its 
history, it has experienced many and great changes ; at one time 
under the rule of Babylonia and Persia, it fell afterwards into the 



360 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

hands of Alexander the Great. Pompey attached it to the Roman 
Empire. Many Jews had settled in Damascus after its conquest 
by Alexander, and it early became the seat of a Christian bishop. 
Saracens and Turks possessed it, and adorned it with many splen- 
did buildings. It was attacked, — 1 147, — by the Crusaders, under 
Baldwin, and Louis VII., of France, that unlucky King whose 
misfortunes lost him his wife and lands in Aquitaine ; but the 
cross never displaced the crescent in Damascus. 

Two centuries later came Tamerlane, a chief of Turkish tribes, 
who aspired to the conquest of the world. Damascus fell before 
him, but after such resistance, that in his rage he slaughtered all 
its inhabitants without mercy. This was in 1401. It was a fear- 




N AZARETH. 

ful destruction. The wealth of the ancient city was scattered in 
a day, palaces were pillaged and left in flames, libraries were de- 
stroyed. 

But again the city rose from its ashes : a century later it fell 



THE SEA OF GALILEE. 361 

into the hands of the Turks, and has ever since had them for 
nominal rulers, at least. 

Thus six different races have possessed it ; but it has flourished 
under all, and exists and prospers still, in spite of misrule. 

The day after arriving, Mrs. Horner received a bright, cheerful 




RUINS OF CAPERNAUM. 



note from Mary, written, to be sure, only twenty-four hours after 
she had kissed her mother " good-by," but saying that she was 
happy, and not lonely. Thus reassured, the Damascus blades 
settled themselves for a comfortable week or ten days in that 
interesting city, and the inspection of all its points of interest. As 
there was no hurry, according to the favorite motto of Mr. Horner, 
they were careful not to crowd too many experiences into one day, 
and thus left themselves leisure to hear what Philip and Mr. 
Hervey had to say about their Arab life of the last twelve days. 
So, upon the first evening, they settled themselves in the pleas- 



362 



A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 



ant salon at Dimitri's, Mr. Hervey and Philip both reclining on 
divans, for it must be confessed they were somewhat stiff after 
so many days in the saddle. 

" Now begin at the beginning, and tell us all about it," said the 
mamma. 

" After we left you," added Bessie, " we rode off towards Jeru- 
salem, Erik and I, at a galloping pace." 

" Poor Erik! he wanted to go with us awfully," said Philip. 
" But it was better that he did not. Do you not think so, Mr. 
Hervey? Two of us made just the right number for Waddi to look 
after." 

"Well," began Mr. Hervey, "we started off on that pretty road, 
and did Samaria that day, and passed on to Nazareth, over the Plain 
of Esdraelon, beautifully fertile and luxurious. Our Waddi kept us 
pretty well up to the mark, for he was in a hurry, for some reason, 
to reach Nazareth. There we stayed one night, and the next day 
we went up Mount Tabor, and so down the other side to Tiberias, 
which is close upon the shore of the Sea of Galilee, you know, 
Bessie. We thought of you when we were swimming in it. . Then 
we were three days going from Tiberias along the shore through 
Capernaum to Banias, which is Caesarea. Instead of coming straight 
to Damascus from Caesarea, we took a course by the base of 
Mount Hermon, to Hesbeiya, and Rasheiya, which, by four days' 
riding, brought us out near Dummar, you know, where we met 
you at Damascus." 

"That was Friday, then, the day we left Beyrout ? " asked Mrs. 
Horner. 

"No, Thursday. We reached here the last day of April. We 
have • not begun to tell you how interesting the whole trip was, 
especially the Sea of Galilee. It is a beautiful lake in itself, 
and full of association. You tell them about Safed, Phil, I have 
talked enough." 

"Safed," said Phil, taking up the narration, "is a high place 
on the Lake. The Jews believe that the Messiah will rise from 
the Lake and land there, and establish his throne at Safed. There 



THE SEA OF GALILEE. 363 

is a splendid view there from some old ruins, of a castle that 
was shaken to pieces by an earthquake, not very long ago, I 
believe." 

" 1837," supplied Mr. Hervey. 

"What sort of a castle?" asked Bessie. 

" Crusaders ; " replied Philip briefly. " But the view ! the Lake 
down at your feet, deep and lovely, something like the Lake of 
Geneva from Glion, then Mount Tabor, quite near, and far off in 
the distance blue lines of mountains. We were hungry when we 




SEA OF GALILEE. 



came back. Only think of eating fish from the Lake of Gali- 
lee ! " 

"The Lake is full of fish," said Mr. Hervey, "but it is 
neglected. There is only one little boat to represent the fishing 
boats of Simon and Andrew." 

Banias, the ancient Caesarea Philippi, became historic under the 



364 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

rule of Herod the Great; he erected a temple there, which he ded- 
icated to Caesar, the only traces of which are some sculptured 
niches in the face of a cliff, with Greek inscriptions. The main 
attraction of the place is the great fountain, the upper source of 
Jordan, bursting from the side of a heap of broken rocks, and frag- 
ments of the ancient temple. This fountain and grotto were dedi- 
cated to the god Pan, hence the name of Paneas, or Banias. 

The ridge of Hermon rises over the city, and this is the "high moun- 
tain " where Christ was transfigured. — Matthew xvi. 13, 20. Caesarea 
was the northern limit of the Saviour's wanderings. His work of 
teaching was nearly over, and he set his face for the last time "to 
go up to Jerusalem." — Luke ix. 51. . 

The Castle of Subeibah is one of the finest ruins in Syria; within 
an hour's ride from Banias, of a great age, probably older than the 
time of Herod. 

" Did you go up Hermon ? " asked Bessie. 

"We did, Bessie," said Philip. "I made Mr. Hervey go, and he 
is glad of it now." 

Mr. Hervey laughed. "Yes; I consented to do one more mountain 
at Phil's entreaty." 

"First, he crossed a sort of side range and went into a valley; then 
came the tug of war. It is all loose rock, with no path, trees few and 
far between. They said we might see panthers, but we did not, 
unluckily. But it was splendid when we were 011 top ; all snowy in 
spots, but a superb view." 

"Yes," said Mr. Hervey, "the view is wonderfully grand." 

Like all summit-views, it is like a map spread out ; but this one is 
exceptionally interesting, for tradition and history. On the north 
lie Lebanon and Anti-Lebanon ; on the south the Sea of Galilee, and 
the chasm made by the Jordan running beyond the reach of the eye; 
the mountains of Gilead are on one side, and those of Samaria on 
the other. Carmel extends far out into the Mediterranean ; the coast 
line sweeps along to the promontory of Tyre and beyond, till Lebanon 
shuts in the view. 

" It made me think of those maps hanging up in the vestry at 



THE SKA OF. GALILEE. 305 

Sunday-school," said Philip; "but I never thought when I was a 
small boy looking at them that I should see R. Jordan really 
running into the Dead Sea." 

They slept in the shelter of some ruins, rolled up in blankets, 
saw a grand sunrise, and were early upon the descending path. 




ON CAMEL. 



Hermon is the second mountain in Syria. The peak of Lebanon, 
behind the cedars, is a few hundred feet higher, Hermon being 
about ten thousand feet. 



366 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

"So you are glad you went, Philip?" said Miss Lejeune, with a 
smile. 

" Oh, yes, indeed. We had a wonderful, delightful trip. I must 
say I rejoiced in a good dinner that first night in this hotel, and 
a good bed." 

"How did you manage about food on the way?" was asked. 

"Waddy managed about that. We were often in the houses of 
sheiks he knew, who were hospitable, and accepted what we pressed 
into their hands at parting. At the large towns there are inns, 
such as they are ; and Waddy always carried a basket of provisions 
for us, slung on his saddle-bow." 

"I felt like a true Bedouin," said Philip; "and with our kuffias 
on, we looked quite as fierce as some we met on camels, with 
our pistols stuck in our belts." 

"I hope you did not use them," said his mother. 

" Only once, mamma. I fired at a gazelle, but it did not mind it 
in the least. It bounded off in one direction, and my bullet in 
another." 

" I hate to have you carry firearms," said Mrs. Horner. "No 
one can ever tell when they will go off." 

" It is more necessary for appearance than any thing else," said 
Mr. Hervey. " It impresses these people a little to see a good 
stock of weapons. We met with no hostile demonstrations ; but 
the Druses are a turbulent lot. It is well to be on the safe side 
with them." 

"I am glad you are safe back," said Mrs. Horner. "And now 

I hope we shall not be separated again." 

She pressed Philip's hand as she said this, adding : 

" Now if we find dear Mary is all right, it will turn out for the 

best." 

"Dear Jeannie," said Miss Augusta, "how fortunate it is.we have 
vou to do the worrying for us, for no one else has to attend to 
that department." 

"Give me credit for not overdoing it," said Mrs. Horner with a 
smile, which was a little troubled. 



DAMASCUS, 



307 



CHAPTER XXXIX. 

DAMASCUS. 



ONE of the first things the Homers did was to go to the top 
of the minaret of the city gate, for the view which is pre- 
sented there of the town. They saw below them a plain of flat 




ON A HOUSE TOP, DAMASCUS. 



roofs, broken here and there by a white cupola and a tall minaret, 
and the large dome of the great mosque. 

At their feet was the beginning of a narrow lane, winding along 
as far as the eye could follow it. This was the " street called 



368 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

straight," — straight, meaning narrow ; for it certainly would not be 
called straight in Philadelphia. In the Roman period of Damascus 
a noble street extended through the city in the same direction, 
and excavations made under the present Straight Street have revealed 
fragments of a Corinthian colonnade which adorned it. For, during 
the great age since the founding of Damascus, and in the many 
evhiements it has experienced, one set of buildings after another 
has been destroyed, so that, as at Jerusalem, there is supposed to 
be layer upon layer of demolished cities to a great depth, under- 
lying the present one. 

In the distance they saw Mount Hermon, snow-covered at the 
summit. A walk through this street led them past scenes of the 
massacre of i860, and other interesting sites; then, under a low 
Roman arch, they entered the region of the bazaars. This 
reminded them of Cairo, "only more so." The same narrow 
streets, and same open fire-places, as Bessie had called them, 
where the merchants sat cross-legged, in front of little shelves, on 
which were piled their stuffs ; but at Damascus there was a 
greater variety of strange and gorgeous materials, rich and splen- 
did. They could not resist the fascination of these shops, and 
bought a good many things, Hassan doing the bargaining, which 
consisted in a long and violent argument between him and the 
shopkeeper, ending in a mutual compromise. Both parties love 
these tilts of the tongue, and it is a regular part of shopping in 
the East. The dealer demands a price which he does not dream 
of receiving, and Hassan mentions a 1 figure which he knows he 
shall have to raise. The squabble became sometimes violent, but 
after a while the repetition was tedious, especially as our Amer- 
icans did not understand a word of it. Miss Lejeune saw some 
pretty little damask napkins, for which her soul longed, bordered 
with red and yellow stripes. 

"Well, Hassan," said Mr. Horner, "you may begin the fight over 
these ; " and while it went on, the party turned their attention to 
the crowds flocking by in the narrow streets, dressed in the bril- 
liant colors of the Orient: the men with gay turbans, and full 




mineeet; DAMASCUS. 



DAMASCUS. 871 

trousers of every bright tint, the women veiled, in dark garments. 
A man went by with a cooling drink, rattling tumblers to attract 
attention ; a lemon was stuck on the pointed top of the tin vessel he 
carried it in. Tommy tried it, and pronounced it "not bad ! " 

Tommy's joy was at its height in the bazaar dedicated to halazvy, 
that is, spices, preserved fruits and confections, many of which 
proved delicious, though strange forms of food. Some, of a bright 
pink, were displayed, that looked the reverse of tempting. 

The most dangerous web of the spider was a retired ro6m of 
an old Jew, where they beheld every form of temptation in the 
way of bric-a-brac. Ivory carvings, shining silks, armor, tiles, gold 
and silver work, treasures ancient and modern, were displayed 
before their eyes, until they found a certain safety in not knowing 
what to choose. 

At a silk merchant's, where delicious soft silks were unfolded 
before their eyes, Mr. Hervey selected from a huge pile of kuffias, — 
square silk handkerchiefs, which the men wrap about their heads, — 
one which was distinguished from the bright gaudy reds and yel- 
lows of the rest. It was of silvery white, with dainty stripes of 
blue. 

"What is that for?" asked inquisitive Tommy, as Mr. Hervey 
was carefully putting the parcel in his pocket. 

"It is a secret," replied Mr. Hervey; "but if you will come 
here, I will whisper it. I am going to give it to Mary." 

Nor was Mary forgotten by the rest ; among other things a huge 
box of ra-hat-ti-cum, a • sweet compound of the East, was carried 
back to her. 

If there had been nothing but the bazaars to make Damascus 
amusing, they could have spent days in wandering there, but there 
were other demands upon their time. 

An expedition on donkeys, which was shared only by Mr. Hervey, 
Miss Lejeune, and Bessie, while the others were busy in bazaars, 
was to Salahiyah, a suburb of Damascus. They rode at first through 
a narrow lane, with high blank walls on either side. The houses 
of Damascus are all built in this way, with all their pleasantness 



372 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

concentrated within, upon an interior court. The street walls are 
without windows or access, except through heavy doors. This is on 
account of the numerous attacks the inhabitants have received, 
leading them to protect their outer works. 

They stopped before a dingy little door and knocked. They had 
to stoop to enter, when lo ! they heard the sound of a rushing 
fountain, and found themselves standing on a balcony surrounded by 




(JAKDEiY IN DAMASCUS. 



orange and lemon-trees. Roses and fleur-de-lis were blooming along 
the paths of a lovely garden, through which poured a deep, though 
narrow river, with its edge tufted with maiden-hair and grasses, that 
danced in the water. A slowly turning wheel lifted water from 
the stream to feed the little fountain. 

The gentlemanly proprietor, in a turban and a gown of striped red 
and blue cotton, spread a carpet and brought chairs for them to repose 
upon, while he entertained them by playing upon a musical instrument 
something like a fiddle, and there they ate their picnic lunch, which 



DAMASCUS. 



378 




WATKJt WHEEL. 



Hassan, who accompanied them, had brought. This was his surprise. 
He had proposed the expedition, and was disappointed that the 
whole party did not join it ; but for some reason, they had not under- 
stood the extent of the plan, 
and so the others lost see- 
ing the pretty garden. 

Remounting their don- 
keys, they came back to the 
hotel by a long detour 
through lovely green lanes 
overhung with grape-vines, 
and apricot-trees in blossom. 
The apricot is much culti- 
vated in Damascus, and, preserved, is delicious. Mish-mish is its Arabic 
name. 

They passed through a village inhabited by Kurds, said by Hassan 
to be a violent people, who worship the devil. They passed a man 

being led to prison by 
means of a pocket-hand- 
kerchief knotted about his 
throat. They told Hassan 
to inquire the cause, and he 
thus translated the answer : 
" They say he has broken 
the head of his mother." 

One or two of the private 
houses of Damascus must 
be visited to reveal to travel- 
lers the beauty of the city. 
No contrast could be greater 
than that between the 
eastern music. gloomy streets and low door- 

ways, and what is to be seen within— the open court with tessellated 
pavement and large marble basin, on the same plan with that of the hotel, 
only often far more gorgeous. Flowering shrubs, climbing roses, and 




374 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

jessamine on trellises, fill the air with perfume. The apartments all 
open into this court ; and the term open is literal, with regard to one 
of them, which has but three walls, like a scene on the stage, the 
south side being wholly exposed to the sun and outside air. Here 
is a marble floor, and a raised dais covered with cushions, running 




KURDS. 



round the three sides. The Arabic women walk about over the court- 
yard upon high pattens, but when they come to the divan, they 
lift their feet out of them, and leave their "mules" standing on the 
floor. These women are beautifully dressed, with full flowing 
trousers and embroidered jackets. 

The life at the hotel was pleasant. The parties whose acquaint- 
ance Phil and Mr. Hervey had made, were installed there ; and at 



DAMASCUS. 377 

the long table d'hote dinner there was always agreeable conversation, 
reviewing the events of the clay, and comparing notes. Miss 
Lejeune struck up a deep friendship for a gentleman who sat 
next her at table, and their lively remarks kept up a constant fire 
of repartee. After dinner, the old Jew was allowed to come in with 
his wares, which he spread before the guests, unfolding, one' after 
another, rich bits of heavy embroidery, thick silks, or old golden 
vessels. 

Tt was amusing to watch the crafty way with which he watched 
his chance of a customer. 

There was a tablecloth in which Miss Lejeune took a faint 
interest, the very first evening, but without any intention of buying 
it. Another evening it reappeared in Mustaplea's collection, and, 
without saying any thing about it, he placed it directly under her 
eye. The next time she saw it he was showing it to some one 
else, but, strange to say, close at her side, and he let fall some- 
thing about a reduction of price. It ended in her buying it. She 
always looks upon it since as a great bargain. 

On Sunday, after the service of the English Church, and a ser- 
mon upon the subject of the conversion of St. Paul, some of 
the party walked to the place outside the wall, in which tradition 
has put the scene of Paul's escape from the city, "let down by 
the wall through a window, in a basket." In front of a walled-up 
gate near it, is a small cupola, covering a tomb said to be that 
of George the porter, who aided St. Paul in his escape, and 
became a martyr to his benevolence. His memory and his sepul- 
chre are still venerated by Christians. 

There was much talk at the table about an expedition to Palmyra, 
which would shortly be made under military escort. The French 
artist and the two savants who were to accompany the cortege, 
had not yet arrived in Damascus, but their forerunners were already 
making preparations, and Hassan reported, from time to time, their 
progress. 

Philip longed to join that party. He never wished to turn back, 
anywhere, and just then it seemed a great mistake not to push 



378 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

farther eastward. Palmyra sounded remote and strange ; a place not 
visited by all the world. But he received no encouragement from 
his family to undertake the expedition. They urged him to content 
himself with what he had already enjoyed. 

" When I am a man ! " he said, prophesying wonderful travels by 
a shake of his head. 




OFF SHORE. 



TOGETHER AT LAST. 



379 



CHAPTER XL. 

TOGETHER AT LAST. 

THE Homers had finished their visit to Damascus, and every 
thing was ready for their departure, only one day remaining 
for a last excursion to the bazaars, to buy a few more souvenirs of 
the East to carry home. 

While they were all at dinner, toward the end of the clay, the 
usual confusion arose in the courtyard, accompanying the arrival of 
travellers, — a clattering of feet on the stone pavement, lively conver- 
sation in various tongues, packs thrown down, and comforts called 
for. But that day it seemed louder than common, and more pro- 
longed. The voices were on a high pitch, and much excited. The 
waiters were drawn away from their duties to listen. 

"May I, papa?" demanded Philip, and sprang to leave the table. 
Tommy was at his heels. The hubbub increased so that all the 
gentlemen went out to find what it might mean, and the ladies 
were left to themselves around the table. 

"It must be the Palmyra party," said Miss Lejeune; " they have 
been expected for a day or two." 

".But this noise is very unusual. I wonder Dimitri allows it," 
grumbled an old lady, who thought, she knew Damascus thoroughly, 
because she had been there three weeks. 

"Mamma, mamma!" cried Tommy, bursting in, "such a row! 
They are arresting their dragoman ! " 

" What dragoman ? Who are ? " asked the others. 
" The Palmyra people. I don't know why yet, but the police 
have seized him, and are taking him to the Zaptie. He is as mad 
as fury !'" and Tommy disappeared again. 



380 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

. The tumult, after this, subsided in the courtyard, but was trans- 
ferred, in some measure, to the dining-room, when the savants and 
the artist, flushed and excited, came in for their dinner, talking 
French volubly, with a great deal of gesture of hands and shrugging 
of shoulders. The ladies vanished ; only Philip hovered around, hoping 
to gather some information, while he absorbed himself in a plate of 
pistachio nuts. 

Later, from Hassan, it was learned that the dragoman of the 




AliANA. 



Palmyra party had been caught in collusion with Bedouins. Sus- 
picions had caused him to be watched. He had been seen tam- 
pering with firearms, and handling the private effects of his masters, 



TOGETHER AT LAST. 883 

who resolved to trust him not an instant after reaching Damascus, 
and thus the arrest. Abundant proof of his guilt was forthcoming. 
It was most fortunate the discovery was made before the expedi- 
tion had started upon the long and perilous road to Palmyra. 

The upshot of all this was, that, as the party were now without 
a dragoman, they set about at once to fill the deficiency, and 
whom should they select but our Hassan ! Hassan had now 
reached the end of his engagement with Mr. Horner. Mr. Horner 
readily gave him the warmest recommendation to the French gen- 
tlemen, and the French gentlemen engaged him at once. Hassan's 
French was as good as his English ; elementary, but expressive. 

And thus it happened that " Hassan Horner," as he had some- 
times been called, was the only one of the party who went on to 
Palmyra. 

The parting between Bessie and Hassan was very tender. She 
begged him to come to America. He presented her with his 
photograph. All the rest said good-by with cordial feelings towards 
their devoted protector ; but Bessie was his favorite. 

His last attention was to accompany them to the yard of the 
diligence, where they found themselves about three a. m., waiting 
under the stars, Scorpio shining brightly over the river which ran 
brawling by. A little later the horses were put in ; crack went 
the whip, round went the wheels, and they were off in the dark- 
ness, too sleepy to mind much where they were. When the dawn 
came, they aroused themselves to admire the scenery, which is more 
beautiful in this direction than going the other way, across the 
broad valley between the Lebanon and anti-Lebanon. 
• The day wore on very pleasantly, full of the anticipation of 
meeting Mary. As they drew down towards Beyrout, a little open 
carriage stood waiting for them, containing two ladies, and a mass 
of flowers lying upon the vacant seats. One was Mary ; but who 
was her companion, neatly attired in dark blue flannel, with a snug 
little straw hat, and a knot of dark hair below it ? It was all they 
could do to recognize Miss Spark. 

The meeting was a joyous one. Mary looked fresh and blooming. 



384 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SFRLA. 

She, too, had a new hat suitable to the warm weather, and wore no 
trace of fatigue or ill health. 

"We have only room for two of you with us," said Mary. "We 
want mamma and one other, and Tommy may go on the box." 

But here the ever obliging Miss Spark proposed to exchange for 
the diligence; so, while Bessie took her place, she and Mr. Horner 
rode on in the coupe to the hotel, Philip and Mr. Hervey pre- 
ferring to stretch their legs by walking. 

"How long it seems! a perfect age since we parted!" exclaimed 
Mary, "and I suppose you have seen wonderful things. But look! is 
not my Beyrout lovely ? I have enjoyed the time everv minute." 




THE NORTH SHORE. 



"So have we," said Bessie, " and we have brought you some lovely 
things from Damascus. Are the Fords still here?" 

" Yes, but oh dear ! Miss Mackaye does not get any better. Doctor 
Grant fears she will not recover." 

"How sad!" said Mrs. Horner. "Oh, my dear Mary, how relieved 
I am to see you looking so well ! " 



TOGETHER AT LAST. 385 

Their conversation was interrupted for all to admire the beauty of 
the approach to Beyrout. Lebanon, with its cedars, rose purple and 
magnificent to the right ; villas, farms and vineyards, embowered in 
a billowy tumult of fruit-trees in blossom, lay before them v down to 
the promontory which makes the harbor, and there were ranged the 
ships and steamers of the prosperous port. 

A pleasant little dinner that evening at the hotel, closed this 
episode of. the Homers' travelling career. 

Doctor Grant was there, by invitation, and the Fords, of course ; 
Miss Spark held her favorite place by the side of Mr. Horner. 

"And so," said Mr. Hervey, "you have accomplished the long- 
wished-for journey in the East." 

This was addressed to Bessie, who replied, " Yes, I have seen 
Rameses at home." 

"How much enjoyment we have had!" said Mrs. Horner. "It 
seems almost as if we had all of us been up the Nile. In fact, I 
think in future I might as well do my travelling vicariously, through 
my children." 

"O mamma!" cried Tommy, "you did not think that way in 
Keene." 

"I think," asserted Bessie, "that we never ought to travel any- 
where except with mamma, and aunt Gus, and Mr. Hervey." 

Mr. Hervey sat by Mary, whom he was observing with admiring 
interest. She looked so fresh and pretty, that he could not help saying 
to her, "Mary, you have become a grown-up young lady since we 
left you at Sychar ! " 

"Why not?" she replied, blushing and smiling; "that was quite 
a long time ago, and," she added, " I have had a birthday in your 
absence. I am sixteen now." 

"Do not fancy that we had forgotten it, dear," said her mother, 
and Philip, at a sign from her, advanced a little table with presents 
from each one. By this accident of her birthday arriving just at 
that time, Mary reaped a little harvest of Damascus toys and orna- 
ments. Among the gifts, was the blue-and-white kuffia from Mr. 
Hervey. 



386 A FAMILY FLIGHT OVER EGYPT AND SYRIA. 

During their drive into town, Miss Spark had had an opportu- 
nity to unfold her plans to Mr. Horner, and submit them to his 
approval. After a little demur on his part, at her consuming so 
much time upon the long voyage of three months, he was brought 
to see the merits of the plan, but stipulated that he should "him- 
self " interview" the captain, and make sure that the food and 
accommodations of the vessel were likely to be satisfactory. This 
■he did subsequently, and, like every one else, was won over by 
the genial deportment of Captain Wallace, to be willing to entrust 
to him the care of Miss Spark. 

And now the little party is assembled on the pier, to say farc- 




THE SALLY ANN. 



well to their obliging companion, whom they have all learned to 
love. Tommy has brought her some flowers ; Mary is kissing her 
on both cheeks, clasped in her arms, — for Miss Spark finds it hard 
to part from the dear child. But the little boat is ready. Mr. Hor- 



TOGETHER AT LAST. 387 

ner and Mr. Hervey are both in it, to be rowed with her out to the 
Sally Ann, lying at her moorings only a short distance off. The 
others watch the progress of the boat. They watch the departing 
voyager as she mounts the side, and, standing upon deck, is joined 
by the captain's wife, who was previously on board. 

The boat is returning with the gentlemen, and now every hand- 
kerchief is waved, and hats are raised for a final salutation. There 
is rattling of ropes and anchor-chains. The great sails, already 
set, swing around, when the large vessel is free ; and slowly 
she moves off as the wind fills them. There are tears in many 
eyes. The sight of a lofty vessel, borne by the wind far away, to 
encounter the dangers of the sea, has a touch of the melancholy in it. 

Miss Spark stood upon the deck beside the captain's wife, to 
watch the receding shore, and gaze as long as possible upon the 
group of her friends. 

As she saw them last, Mary and Mr. Hervey were standing to- 
gether, Mrs. Horner leaning upon her husband's arm. Bessie was 
with the Fords, while Miss Lejeune and Philip shared one umbrella, 
and Tommy sat astride on top of a post. 

"How do you suppose they mean to get home?" asked Mrs. 
Wallace. 

" Well, I declare ! " said Miss Spark. " I never thought to inquire ! " 



i 

* 




AKAIU PASHA. 



A neiv Book of American Travel 



OUT AND ABOUT. 

BY 

KATE TANNATT WOODS. 

Author of "six little rebels," " doctor dick," etc. 
Profusely illustrated. Quarto, chromo board cover, $1.50; extra cloth, bev* 
elled and gilt, $2.00. 




This is a charming book of travel, commencing at Nantucket and extending to San Fran- 
cisco and return. It is full of instructive and entertaining features, interspersed with adventure, 
and replete with descriptions of the scenery, cities, plains and people along the route. It is 
really a history in the garb of fiction, and must find many admirers among the adult as well as 
the juvenile readers. 

" Out and About " is in marked contrast with most books of its class, the major portion of 
which are based on scenes in foreign lands, while the material for this is found entirely within 
the boundaries of the United States. — Exchange. 

For sale by all booksellers, or will be sent postpaid upon receipt of price, by 

D. LOTHROP AND COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 

30 & 32 Franklin St., Boston. 



OVER SEj XBRARY. 

OVER SEAS; or, Hei ;e and Everywhere., 

BY POPUL. xHORS. 




"O THE DEAR ONES AT HOME." 



l2mo, cloth, fully illustrated, 5i.oo. 

A collection of charming sketches of travel and history in narrative form. 

CURIOUS SCHOOLS. 

i2mo, cloth, fully illustrated, $r.oo. 

Illustrated Science for Boys and Girls. 

BY NOTED WRITERS. 

121110, cloth, illustrated, $1.00. 

The title of this work is no misnomer. It is written by. authors who personally inspected 
the curious schools described, and is illustrated with numerous engravings, made by artists who 
visited the various schools presented, for this purpose. It is full of interest. 

Science was never more pleasingly presented to the young than between the covers of this book. 
For sale by all booksellers, or will be sent post-paid upon receipt of price, by 

D. LOTHROP & CO., Publishers, 30 and 32 Franklin St. 



* A scries of charming pictures, full of ' 

"\ " All readers will endorse the highest I 
They grew,' they will continue to groiv, t 
nterest. It is one of the best told tales 



unusually natural." — Churchnian^New Yo.-i\ 

n betsow on ' Five little Peppers, and how 
n the number who read their story with 
iie children for some time. The perfect re- 




production of child-life, in its minutest phase?., catches one's attention at once." — Christian 
Advocate, Pittsburgh, Pa. 

FIVE LITTLE PEPPERS, 

and How They Grew. 

" MARGARET SIDNEY. 

Author of "the pettibone name," " half 
year at bronckton," " what the 
seven did," " the lost 

HARE," ETC. 



i2mo, cloth, fully illustrated 
by Jessie Curtis. 410 pages, 
#1.50. 

Of this story recently reis- 
{// sued in London by Plodder & 

Stoughton, the Christian Ob- 
server says : " How the Five 
little Peppers did grow is a per- 
feet mystery, with all their hard- 
ships poverty, trials and battles 
g?p with life ; as Mrs. Pepper said, 

'Sf"/.' 'They were not brought up, 

^4 they just scrambled up.' Many 

¥^4.!, delighted little readers will, 
■r' we hope, get various, useful 

and practical hints as to how 
to get happiness and con- 
tentment out of each other, 
when they have not the luxu- 
ries, or even the comforts of 
life, as the Five Little Peppers 
did. How things brightened 





THE YOUNGEST OF THE PEPPERS. 



> to them at last we will leave our young friends to find out, by reading the book for them- 
lves, with the prediction that no one of them who reads it will be disappointed." 

For sale by all booksellers, or will be sent post-paid upon receipt of price, by 

D. LOTHROP AND COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 
30 & 32 Franklin St., Boston. 



THE SHAKESPEARE BIRTHDAY BOOK. 



i8mo, cloth, tinted edges, illustrated, $1.00; full calf, limp, $2.50. 

This elegant little work gives a quotation from Shakespeare and a blank for every day in the 
year. 



AUTOGRAPH 
BIRTHDAY 
BOOK, 

FOR YOUNG PEO- 
PLE. 

Edited by 
AMANDA B. HARRIS, 

Illustrated, i8mo, extra cloth 
binding, full gilt, $1.00; 
full calf ; $2.00. 

There are twelve original 
month poems by leading 
American poets, among whom 
are Longfellow, Whittier and 
Carleton. The day verses are 
selected from other poets. 




THE KEEPSAKE SCRIPTURE TEXT BOOKS. 

With preface by REV. J. C. RYLE, Bishop of Liverpool. 
Cloth, 50c. ; gilt, 75c. 

There is a Scriptural quotation for every day in the year, with a blank opposite. 

LITTLE FOLKS' EVERY DAY BOOK. 

Edited by AMANDA B. HARRIS, with twelve color designs emblamatic of the months, by 

GEORGE F. BARNES. 
Square i8mo, tinted edges, $1.00. 
There is an illustration with every verse, and a blank opposite. 

For sale by all booksellers, or will be sent post-paid upon receipt of price, by 

D. LOTHROP AND COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 

30 & 32 Franklin St., Boston. 



BOOKS BY CLARA DOTY BATES. 



Bright pictures and lines that sparkle with fun and inteiest. 

CHILD-LORE, 

ITS CLASSICS, TRADITIONS AND 
JINGLES. 

Beautifully illustrated with colore; 
plates and engraving's. Quarto, ele 
gant cloth cover and gilt, $4.00. 

Among the artists who 
have contributed to this 
splendid child's book 
are Miss L. B. Hum- 
phrey, Jessie 
Curtis, Mary 
A. Lathbury, 
Mrs. C. D. Frin- 
ley, L. Hopkins, " Boz " 
and J. G. Francis. 



HEART'S 
CONTENT 

AND THEY WHO LIVED THERE. 

i6mo, illustrated, chromo cover, $1.00 ; 
cloth, $1.50. A very pleasing story of child life 

%* For sale by all booksellers, or will be sent post-paid 
upon receipt of price, 

D. LOTHROP AND COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 
30 & 32 Franklin St., Boston. 




PANSY PICTURE BOOK 

BY PANSY. 

Quarto, chromo board covers, $1.50 ; extra cloth. $2.00. 375 pages and 131 engravings. 




Of all the numerous publications by Pansy there is not one that more fittingly represents 
those qualities of thought which commend her books to the youth of the world, than this galaxy 
of short stories, which will find a welcome from every parent. 

For sale by all booksellers, or will be sent post-paid on receipt of price, by 



D. LOTHROP AND COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 

30 & 32 Franklin St., Boston. 



fa 



Hp 

m 
m 



VV 



■Br 




A Family Flight is a panorama and lec- 
ture between two covers. Intelligent travel 
is an education, and a bright travel-book like 
this is one of the best books of instruction for 
bright young folks — New York Observer. 

A Family Flight 

THROUGH FRANCE, GERMANY, 
SWITZERLAND AND NORWAY. 
BY 

EDWARD EVERETT HALE 



SUSAN HALE. 

Quarto, 250 illustrations, boards, $2.00. 
Quarto, cloth, 250 illustrations, 400 pp., $2.50. 
Quarto, 250 illusts, cloth, tinted edge, $3.00. 

Of-all the books of travel and adventure lor 
young folks issued the past year, no one ap- 
proaches this in the fascinating interest of 
the story; while the names of the authors 
alone are guarantee of high literary merit. 

Mr. Hale is known the country over as one 
of our best story writers, while Miss Hale 
has achieved a reputation as a writer of 
bright things, and Family Flight is all that 
we might expect from the joint pens of the 
two. — A Ibany Journal. 

Mr. and Miss Hale have allowed the chil- 
dren in Family Flight, through questions 
which brought pleasant stories and pertinent 
explanations, to make this attractive book. — 
New York IV or Id. 

* # * For sale by all booksellers, or sent 
post-paid upon receipt of price, by 



D. LOTHROP AND COMPANY, Publishers, 30 and 32 Franklin St. 



' ; All Aboard for Sunrise Lands is a book which happily blends substantial scientific, historc 
and geographical facts with the stories of its heroes." — Chicago Inter-Ocean. 



ALL ABOARD FOR SUNRISE LANDS. 



A TRIP THROUGH 

CALIFORNIA. 

ACROSS 

THE PACIFIC TO 
JAPAN, CHINA 

AND 

AUSTRALIA. 

BY 

E. A. RAND. 

Author of " Roy's Dory," 
"Pushing Ahead," 
" Bark Cabin," 
" Tent in the Notch, ' Etc. 



Quarto, 200 illustrations, 
400 pp., chromo board cov- 
er, $1.75; extra cloth, $2.25. 




This book will be thoroughly enjoyed by young readers. It is full of adventure, incidents 
and accidents on sea and land graphically told, and presents many novel and attractive scenes 
that will also be enjoyed by older readers. 



This book makes it possible to describe many little known places and customs, and Mr. 
Rand has done the work well. — Springfield J\cpt/blican. 

A lively book of travel. — Congregational ist . 

For sale by all booksellers, or will be sent postpaid upon receipt of price, by 

D. LOTHROP AND COMPANY, Publishers, 
30 & 32 Franklin St., Boston. 



Of all the stories that have been Wi'ttten for the delectation of juvenile readers, roe have never 
seen anv thing funnier than this. — N Y. Observer. 

KING GRIMALKUM AND PUSSYANITA; 

OR, 

THE CATS' ARABIAN NIGHTS. 

BY 

ABBY MORTON DIAZ. 

Author of "Christmas morning,'' "poixy cologne,'' " wtlliam henry brooks," etc., 

ETC., ETC. 

Quarto, profusely illustrated, chrome board cover, $r .25. 




In " King Grimalkum and Pussyanita " we have a new departure in juvenile literature which 
is most capitallv carried out It is a sort of Arabian Nights, adapted to the Kingdom of Cats, 
and has found and will continue to find hosts of admirers. 

One of the brightest and cleverest of juvenile publications — Boston Journal. 

For the benefit of the dimpled darlings of the nursery, who are scarcely of an age to appre- 
ciate the marvels which are to be found in the original Arabian Nights, Abby Morton Diaz has 
devised a charming substitute. — Chicago Times. 

*** For sale by all booksellers, or will be sent post-paid upon receipt of price, by 



D. LOTHROP AND COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 

30 & 32 Franklin St., Boston. 



To begin with let every child be given a general knowledge of the earth, and what is on it, 
it, and about it. — Huxley. ft 

Illustrated Science for Young '{f olks. 



UNDERFOOT. 

BY 

LAURA D. NICHOLS. 

With an introduction by E. C. BOLLES. Quarto, illustrated, 235 pp., boards, $1.25. 

The earth's treasures are unfolded in "Underfoot" in a light that cannot fail to arrest the 
attention of any child. Geology is commonly presented in the dryest of garbs, but here it is 
clothed in a most attractive manner. 

FOUR FEET, WINGS AND FINS. 

By 

MRS. A. E. ANDERSON-MASKELL. 
Quarto, illustrated, boards, $1.25 ; cloth, $1.75.' 
In this elegantly illustrated work of 636 pages 
on zoology, is embraced a book that will find 
thousands of admirers among the little folks. 
This is a book that helps the boys to investi- 
gate for themselves* giving such wise sugges- 
tions and examples as will make the woods, 
fields and animal life have a language intelli- 
gible to all who have their Eyes Right, as did 
the hero of the story. The author is a lover 
of boys, and his stories never fail to interest 




them. 



EYES RIGHT. 



BY 

ADAM ST WIN. 
Quarto, boards, illustrated, $1.25; cloth, #1.75. 

OVERHEAD. 

BY 

ANNIE MOORE & LAURA D. NICHOLS. 

With an Introduction by 
LEONARD WALDO, of Harvard College Observatory. 
In no sense is this a text-book, but as Prof. 
Waldo says, " it covers up a primer of astronomy under the guise of a story." 

For sale by all booksellers, or will be sent postpaid on receipt of price, by 

D. LOTHROP AND COMPANY, PUBLISHERS, 

30 & 32 Franklin St., Boston. 



